Documenti di Didattica
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BY
JORDI C. HONEY-ROSS
DISSERTATION
Urbana, Illinois
Doctoral Committee:
economic systems in order to improve ecosystem management and human well-being. By clarifying how
human populations benefit from ecosystems we may protect valuable ecosystem functions and improve
human welfare more strategically. To advance the field of ecosystem services my dissertation asks three
questions:
(1) How can historical research inform why ecosystem based management approaches have been
(2) What is the relationship between technological innovation and the value of ecosystem services?
(3) Can the restoration of ecosystem structures and functions influencing stream temperature provide
I focus on ecosystem services in the Llobregat watershed near Barcelona, Spain, where over 3
million residents rely on the Llobregat River for basic water needs. The withdrawal of drinking water
from the Llobregat River has created clear linkages between local well-being and the rivers aquatic
ecosystem. Two water treatment facilities withdraw water from the Llobregat, and both have recently
installed desalination technology. However the new treatment systems are expensive to operate. In this
urban and technologically advanced context, I explore how ecosystem services may be managed to meet
Chapter 1 reviews the literature on ecosystem services, describes the study area, and begins to
outline my argument developed in the dissertation. The number of articles published on the topic of
ecosystem services has exploded in the last decade, and in this chapter I describe how my research
contributes to this discussion. One major argument pertains to the sequence in which the field usually
studies the linkages between ecological and economic systems. Most research begins with the
biophysical; and later draws on the social sciences to attach monetary values to ecosystem structures or
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functions. Instead, I propose that we study the economic system first, including its decision-making and
technological context, and then allow our ecological research to follow from that insight.
Chapter 2 consists of an environmental history that examines the individuals and institutions that
have controlled the flow of water in the Llobregat River, and by extension, dictated water management
practices. The study of ecosystem services is often presented as a new and innovative framework for
addressing environmental problems. Through archival research and personal interviews, I examine how
historic resource users have integrated or ignored this framework for decision making in the Llobregat
watershed. I find that throughout the twentieth century, most river managers did not adopt an ecosystem
services approach, but rather favored hardscaped and structural solutions. At the same time I find that
proposals to manage ecosystem services related to flood control were proposed as far back as 1890, and
these ideas were implemented in the 1930s. Notions of ecosystem services have more than a century of
history in the watershed, and yet they have not played a central role in river and water management.
Structural approaches have dominated decision making and continue to play a dominant role, as most
recently demonstrated by the installation of desalination treatment plants. The recommendations from the
Commission for the Study of Salinity of the Llobregat River (CESALL) in 1932 outlined structural
solutions for addressing the Llobregat Rivers water pollution and supply problems, and these
recommendations had a lasting impact for the remainder of the twentieth century. I argue that our current
system of water treatment and distribution reflects a historical tradition that has favored technological
Chapter 3 examines the value of urban ecosystem services when sophisticated technology
mediates our relationship with ecosystem processes. Most research on ecosystem services is being
conducted in natural or pristine areas, while less attention has been directed at urban ecosystem services
and their relationship with technological change. Understanding the relationship between technological
change and the value of ecosystem services is relevant because it may broaden the circumstances in which
ideas about ecosystem services may be implemented in practice. I argue that the expected tradeoff
iii.
between natural and manufactured capital is false. Rather, the adoption of new technologies is
complementary to ecosystem management. This point is illustrated with a case study that analyzes how
the installation of sophisticated drinking water treatment technology increased the value of ecosystem
services in Barcelona, Spain. The implication is that the supply of ecosystem services is not fixed; and
technological change will reshape which ecosystem services are valuable but not obviate the need for
them entirely.
Finally, in Chapter 4 I use a biophysical stream temperature model to assess how increases in
riparian vegetation and stream discharge may reduce stream temperatures and treatment costs
downstream. This chapter serves as an example of the type of research that I am proposing for the field.
The type of ecological modeling I chose emerged from an analysis of the technological and decision-
making context of ecosystem users. By modeling different ecological scenarios, I find that existing
forests along the Llobregat River save water treatment managers 79,000 per year, while the restoration
of additional riparian forests could generate economic savings in the range of 57,000- 156,000 per year.
Stream restoration at higher elevations would yield greater benefits than restoration in the lower reaches.
Moderate increases in stream discharge (25%) could generate savings of 40,000 per year. This research
underscores that ideas about ecosystem services have the potential to be more widely adopted if research
focuses on the demand for these services rather than the supply.
iv.
Acknowledgements
This dissertation would not have been possible without the support from my family, friends and
colleagues. I thank my advisor, Daniel Schneider, for allowing me to pursue my own research path while
also keeping me on track when I went astray. Nick Brozovic provided insightful commentary every step
of the way and displayed extraordinary patience when I came with questions. Similarly, I benefited from
several discussions with Edward Feser and Pedro Arrojo, both of whom made constructive and perceptive
Lew Hopkins and Elizabeth L. Sweet made it possible for me to join the doctoral program at the
Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois. The University awarded me a
fellowship during my first year, and later offered me a Teaching Assistantship, a Dissertation Travel
Grant, a Tinker pre-doctoral research grant, and a fellowship from the Human Dimensions of
Environment Systems program. I also was fortunate to be granted a Research Assistantship under the
Early on, when searching for a dissertation topic, I relied on guidance from experts in the field of
urban planning and water management. I was fortunate to be granted interviews from Narcs Prat, Enric
Tello, Germ Bel, Rafael Mujeriego, Oriol Nel.lo, David Saur, Josep Anton Acebillo, Marc Monlle,
When my attention turned toward the Llobregat River, those familiar with the waterway
welcomed me without hesitation. These stewards shared with me their ideas and aspirations, all of which,
in some way, have helped me develop a stronger research project. In particular I would like to thank
Roger Lloret, whom I met while preparing for a backpacking trek down the river in July 2008. Roger
taught me about water treatment, water chemistry, and the rivers history. He also arranged important
interviews with numerous co-workers and friends. I also thank ngel Miralda for accompanying me
during my hike down the river for two days, as well as Hctor Oliva and Sara Ortiz Escalante for also
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joining me on the adventure. Ricard Sosa, Llus Canals and Rafael Fernndez from the Catalan Water
Agency (ACA) gave me a fantastic tour of the Baells Dam, even though my visit was unannounced. Neus
Santamaria introduced me to the magical history of the company towns along the Llobregat River. Josep
Ribera, David Hernndez, Eloi Escud, Marc Vinyals and the committed community organizers at Prou
Sal! brought me up to speed with the river pollution controversy in Sallent. Their work largely inspired
me to write about the salinity conflict in the Llobregat River. In Martorell, Rafa Diez and Roger
Arqu from Martorell Viu accompanied me along the Anoia stream and its confluence with the Llobregat.
Joan Bordas and Pep Clavero kindly spent a morning teaching me about the plant life in the lower
Llobregat River. Mia Morante, Pau Fortuo and Nuria Snchez gave me a lesson in macro-invertebrates
and biological indicators as we collected water quality samples along the Llobregat and its tributaries.
And Josep Ferret generously granted me an interview, shared articles about the Llobregat River written by
his grandfather in the 1930s, and gave me two books on the history of the river, its aquifer and floods.
Major funding to complete this research project was generously provided by Centre Tecnolgic
de lAigua (CETaqua) and the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), with assistance from the Catalan Institute
for Water Research (ICRA). This grant would not have been possible without the unwavering support
from Carlos Campos, Joana Tobella, and Montserrat Termes at CETaqua; and Antoni Munn and Gabriel
Borrs at ACA. I am deeply grateful for the confidence they deposited in me to execute a project which,
at the time, was merely an idea. Similarly, Ignacio Escudero and Josep Llus Armenter at Aiges de
At the AGBAR water treatment facility in Sant Joan Desp, I received valuable assistance from
lex Vega, who helped me find my way within the water treatment facility. I also thank Marc Pons,
Albert Teuler, Antoni Bernal, Christian Sols, Josep Planas and the entire team at the AGBAR-Sant Joan
Desp laboratory.
At CETaqua I would like to thank Benoit Lefvre, Jose Luis Cortina, Oriol Gibert, Susana
Gonzlez, Xavier Bernat, Catalina Balseiro, Rosa Maria Pieras, Isabel Escaler, and Carlos Montero.
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At ATLL I thank Fernando Valero, ngel Barcel and Ramon Arbs for their patience when
explaining to me the complexities of the EDR desalination system. Under exceedingly difficult
Many at ACA have shared valuable data or insight with me. Most notably, I would like to thank
Mnica Bardina, Llus God, Jordi Rovira, Josep Maria Nierola, Carles Cardona, Rosa Serrano, Carlos
Barbero, Jordi Molist, Joan Verd, Victoria Colomer, and Evelyn Garcia.
The research team at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) generously gave me
institutional support during my time in Catalonia. Sergi Sabater and Vicen Acua were early believers
in the project. Throughout late 2009 and early 2010, when the institutional support was stuck in an
impasse, they displayed extraordinary perseverance and reasserted their support for this project. Once I
was invited to join ICRA, I benefited from discussions with Rafael Marc, Marta Terrado, Roberto
Merciai, Daniel von Schiller, Elisabet Torns, Marta Ricart, Ldia Ponsat, Xisca Timoner and Ramon
Batalla. Carmen Gutierrez, Olga Corral, Emma Collelldevall, Anna Cornella, Jaume Alemany, Ivn
Emi Turull at the Museu de les Aiges generously gave me several books on the history of
AGBAR and water management in Barcelona. I am grateful that this productive exchange with the
Museum has continued with Sonia Hernndez and Rosa Prat. I had illuminating conversations about the
historical research with Santi Gorostiza and Albert Fbrega Enfedaque, both of whom generously shared
with me many of their findings. Esteve Torrens Prez de los Cabos provided me with the detailed
Jordi Badia, Florenci Valls and Sergi Falguera taught me about the geology of the Llobregat
watershed. Albert Soler gave me a fantastic field visit of the Cardener River, the restoration work at
Vilafruns, and an explanation of groundwater flows. Jaume Ribera also took me on an informative hike
along the Cardener River in Sria, and Josep Illa did not hesitate to provide me with background
information about the restoration of riparian forests. Antonio Palacios from the rea Metropolitana de
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Barcelona provided valuable comments on work in progress. Annelies Brockman, Quim Prez, Daniel
Barb, and Jaume Descls oriented me with regard to the social issues and political tug of wars over
water management in Catalonia. lvaro Martnez-Novillo Gonzlez paid for my computer repair after an
I would also like to thank those who inspired me to pursue my doctoral studies in the first place,
especially Lincoln P. Brower, Isabel Ramrez, Carlos Galindo-Leal, Lee Pagni, William Toone, Roger
viii.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
1.1 State of the Literature on Ecosystem Services .................................................................................... 1
1.2 Study Area ........................................................................................................................................ 10
CHAPTER 2. ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE LLOBREGAT WATERSHED ............................ 17
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 19
2.2 Desalination of the Llobregat River .................................................................................................. 22
2.3 Salinity Conflict ................................................................................................................................ 26
2.4 Ecosystem Services for Flood Management ..................................................................................... 66
2.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 75
2.6 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... 80
2.7 References Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................ 81
CHAPTER 3. URBAN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE .......................... 83
3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 84
3.2 Urban Ecosystem Services ................................................................................................................ 85
3.3 Ecosystem Services and Technology ................................................................................................ 88
3.4 Case Study: Water Treatment Technologies in Barcelona, Spain .................................................... 94
3.4.1 Advanced Membrane Technologies for Water Treatment ......................................................... 95
3.4.2 The Value of Ecosystem Services Following Technological Change ....................................... 99
3.5 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 107
3.6 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 110
3.7 References Chapter 3 ...................................................................................................................... 111
CHAPTER 4. MANAGING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO MEET S TREAM TEMPERATURE OBJECTIVES
IN THE LLOBREGAT R IVER , S PAIN ...................................................................................... 115
4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 116
4.2 Study Area ...................................................................................................................................... 119
4.3 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 120
4.4 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 125
4.5 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 140
4.6 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 144
4.7 References Chapter 4 ...................................................................................................................... 145
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APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 148
Appendix A. Osmotic Pressure, Total Dissolved Solids, & Energy Efficiency at AGBAR................. 149
Appendix B. Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR), Conductivity, & Energy Efficiency at ATLL .............. 153
Appendix C. Heat Fluxes Modeled in the Stream Network Temperature Model (SNTEMP) ............. 154
Appendix D. Stream Network Model Execution .................................................................................. 155
Appendix E. Input Files for the Stream Network Model ...................................................................... 157
Appendix F. Field Work for Shading Estimates ................................................................................... 165
Appendix G. Calibration of SNTEMP Model ...................................................................................... 166
Appendix H. Full Results for SNTEMP ............................................................................................... 167
Appendix I. Notes on Scale Selection for SNTEMP ............................................................................ 172
Appendix J. Stream Segment Model (SSTEMP) .................................................................................. 175
Appendix K. Stream Network Model from Castellbell to Abrera ........................................................ 183
Appendix L. Riparian Vegetation and Restoration Costs ..................................................................... 189
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 192
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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 State of the Literature on Ecosystem Services
People and cities depend on the goods and services produced by our planets ecosystems. This
dependent relationship between human well-being and the biophysical world is encapsulated by the
relatively new notion of ecosystem services. The food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink
all derive from ecosystem processes. However our dependence on these ecosystems has not prevented us
from stressing them and reducing their capacity to meet our needs (MA 2005). To maintain our valuable
ecosystem services intact, we must improve resource management and decision making. The ecosystem
services framework promises to bring together the ecological and social sciences to meet this challenge.
Journals are publishing new ideas about ecosystem services at an extraordinary rate. Within the
last six years, five leading publications have released special issues on ecosystem services: Ecology and
Society (Volume 11, No 2, 2006); Ecological Economics (Volume 65, Issue 4, May 2008); the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Volume 105, No 28, July 2008); Frontiers in Ecology
and the Environment (Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2009); Ecological Economics (Volume 69, Issue 6,
April 2010); Ecological Complexity (Volume, 7 Issue 3, September 2010); and again Ecological
Economics (Volume 69, Issue 10, September 2010). In 2012, a new journal will be released with the title
Ecosystem Services. Furthermore, the National Research Council issued a comprehensive report on
Ecosystem Services entitled Valuing Ecosystem Services: Toward Better Environmental Decision Making
that has synthesized this emerging discussion (NRC 2005). And internationally, the United Nations
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment adopted the ecosystem services framework to assess the state of the
The most well-known categorization of ecosystem services divides them into four groups: (1)
provisioning services, which refers to ecosystems ability to generate essential goods such as timber, fuel,
food and fiber; (2) regulating services which refers to the regulation of climate or the water cycle; (3)
supporting services, such as pollination, population control, soil formation, and other ecological
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properties upon which life depends; and finally (4) cultural services, which provide humans with
recreational, spiritual and aesthetic values (MA 2005). This categorization of ecosystem services, while
useful conceptually, has been difficult to operationalize. Problems arise when these four services are
valued as separate entities because in practice, several services may overlap and therefore lead to double
counting (Boyd and Banzhaf 2007). To address this problem, ecosystem services have been re-defined as
the components of nature, directly enjoyed, consumed, or used to yield human well-being (Boyd and
Banzhaf 2007). This definition makes a distinction between intermediate components and final services
and also makes it easier to integrate natural capital into a system of national accounts. Building on this
notion, Fisher (et al. 2009) further simplified the definition of ecosystem services as the aspects of
As these definitions suggest, the field of ecosystem services strives to build stronger linkages
between ecological and economic systems with the purpose of improving ecosystem management and
human well-being (Daily 1997, Arrow et al. 200, Farber et al. 2006). Research on ecosystem services is
quintessentially interdisciplinary because it weaves together the physical, biological, and social sciences
into a framework for analysis. The successful integration of these fields into a coherent, concrete and
practical management approach has the potential to transform environmental policy at several scales.
Proponents of ecosystem services have argued that this framework offers the most promising way forward
for the field of conservation biology (Chan et al. 2006, Armsworth et al. 2007). Protecting our life support
systems has also resonated with advocates for the global poor (Martnez-Alier 2002), because populations
in less developed countries are more dependent on ecosystem services and more vulnerable to their loss
(Sachs and Reid 2006). Major research institutions, conservation organizations, foundations and the
private sector are investing in research on ecosystem services (Montenegro 2008, Stanton et al. 2010,
Armsworth et al. 2011). These groups expect that a breakthrough in the field will open up new avenues
2.
The concept of ecosystem services was developed by conservation biologists (Ehrlich and
Mooney 1983, Daily 1997) in collaboration with environmental economists (Costanza et al. 1997) to find
new ways to protect biodiversity. The legacy from biodiversity conservation has left an imprint on the
field, as researchers are far more likely to advocate for an ecosystem services approach in the biologically
rich, yet economically poor countries in the developing world rather than in industrialized nations
(Norgaard 2010). Research on ecosystem services took off in part because it held the potential to tie
At the same time, it has been acknowledged that ecosystem services are merely a new way of
talking about an old idea. Economists have studied ecosystem services as positive and negative
externalities, and it is well known that ecosystems generate valuable goods and services that are not
accounted for in the market (Pigou 1920, Krutilla 1967, Costanza and Daly 1992). However advocates for
research in ecosystem services suggest that the conceptual frameworks used in the past are insufficient to
manage ecosystem services today (Daily and Matson 2008, Liu et al. 2010). Furthermore, the ecological
processes that underpin ecosystem services remain poorly understood (Kremen and Ostfield 2005,
Kremen 2005). For example, it is well know that mangroves provide habitat for shrimp production
(Aburto-Oropeza et al. 2008), or that rivers purify waters (Grimm et al. 2005), and yet it remains
exceedingly difficult to calculate the marginal values associated with restoring mangrove habitat or
restoring river ecosystems because we have not successfully unified the language of ecology with the
Conservation organizations were the first to use the idea of ecosystem services to advance their
goals of habitat conservation (Pagiola, Bishop, and Landell-Mills 2002, Tallis et al. 2009). In particular,
forest conservationists first began to exploit the funding opportunities that ecosystem services could bring
to forest dwelling communities (Bishop and Landell-Mills 2002). In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the
idea of payments for ecosystem services attracted attention from government officials and conservation
donors working in the developing world. Costa Rica became the first nation to pay land owners for forest
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conservation based on the idea that their forests provided valuable services to the country at large (Pagiola
2008). Mexico and other countries soon followed suit with their own payment for environmental services
program, often focusing on the protection of water supplies (Muoz-Pia et al. 2008, Stanton et al. 2010).
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are defined as voluntary transactions where a well defined
ecosystem service is bought by a buyer if the provider secures a provision of a service (Wunder 2005).
Thus ecosystem services provided an economic rationale to invest in conservation, while at the same time
it aligned development and conservation goals. Furthermore, the ecosystem services approach, one that
bound together ecosystem beneficiaries with ecosystem service providers in a mutually beneficial
financial transaction, promised to open up new opportunities for conservation. Paying for conservation
radically differed from the existing conservation methods used to date, and quickly became seen as a
viable alternative to the legal strategies, or development projects, that had been the standard conservation
tools. Moreover, new arguments surfaced that direct economic payments would be economically more
efficient than alternative conservation schemes (Ferraro and Kiss 2002, Ferraro and Simpson 2002),
generating even more discussion about the need to quantify and understand ecosystem services.
While payments that pay for ecosystem services have been implemented in the developing world,
more prosperous nations rarely rely on the idea of ecosystem services to manage their ecosystems. With
the exception of conservation payments for agriculture (Dobbs and Pretty 2008), or the program on
compensatory wetland mitigation (BenDor and Brozovic 2007, Palmer and Filoso 2009, BenDor and
Doyle 2010), examples in the urban and developed world remained scant. The most prominent
application was New York Citys drinking water protection program in the Catskill watershed. Yet when
policy makers tried to replicate New Yorks experience, it was found that water managers in most major
cities of the United States had already installed the filtration technology that New York City successfully
avoided. This outcome only reaffirmed the idea that ecosystem services came from predominantly
untouched areas, such as the Catskill watershed, and managers would have fewer opportunities to adopt
services has not been accompanied by a parallel transformation in how ecosystems were managed. Even
prominent scholars recognized that it was time to deliver (Daily et al. 2009). Critics raised questions
about why more success stories have not been found (McCauley 2006). To encourage a speedier adoption
of the ecosystem services framework in practice, proponents began to advocate for research that could
help decision-makers implement these ideas with resource managers (Cowling et al., 2008; Daily and
Throughout the dissertation, I argue that two major factors have limited the application of ideas
about ecosystem services. First, researchers have ignored the opportunities to find and exploit ecosystem
services in urban and technologically advanced landscapes (Chapter 3). Second, research has not
dedicated sufficient attention to studying the demand for ecosystem services (Chapter 4). Instead, most
research has focused mostly on the biophysical processes, while leaving the economic analysis and
decision-making context as secondary. This dissertation addresses these limitations by studying the
Of course, this is not the only gap in the literature. There are other obstacles that also must be
addressed to move ideas about ecosystem services from theory to practice. According to the special
report on ecosystem services released by the National Research Council, one fundamental challenge in
the field of ecosystem services lies in linking ecosystem structure and function with economic values
(NRC 2005). Ecosystem structure refers to the composition of the ecosystem and the physical and
biological organization defining how these parts are organized, while ecosystem function describes a
process that takes place in an ecosystem as a result of interactions of plants, animals and other
organisms (NRC 2005). Both ecosystem function and structure are value free descriptors that provide
ecosystem services when they generate human well-being. Whether or not ecosystem function and
structure are ecosystem services often depends on seasonal fluctuations or where the ecosystem is located
relative to human populations. For example, the capacity of wetlands to treat sewage, mitigate floods, or
5.
purify water, often depends on their proximity to human populations as well as seasonal fluctuations
The subtle, yet critical differences between ecosystem functions/structure; ecosystem service, and
economic value have been the source of confusion. Their similarity may also have contributed to the
simplifying assumption that these three processes are linearly related. For example, it has been assumed
that growing mangrove habitat (ecosystem structure), will increase the populations of edible fish
(ecosystem service) that can be harvested, sold and consumed (economic value). Assuming a linear
relationship between ecosystem functions and value or between ecosystem condition and service can lead
to misleading results. Note that the ecological production functions link ecosystem structure/function
with ecosystem services, while ecosystem services are linked to economic values through economic
Figure 1.1 Ecosystem function and structure have nonlinear relationships with the ecosystem services
they provide, and this relationship is described by ecological production functions. Similarly, the values
of these ecosystem services also fluctuate, and this relationship is described by economic valuation
functions.
Furthermore, spatial and temporal variability add two additional levels of complexity (Fig 1.2).
The values of any ecosystem service can change depending on its location or season. The combination of
these complexities has prevented us from acting on ideas about ecosystem services. In practical terms,
this means that resource managers do not have the means to evaluate the impacts of their decisions on the
6.
Figure 1.2 The chain linking ecosystem functions/structure, with ecosystem services and economic value
increases in complexity when we consider spatial and temporal variability.
Similarly, Koch et al. (2009) studied how coastal habitats provided the ecosystem service of
coastal protection. They demonstrated how valuation results varied significantly according to spatial and
temporal fluctuations such as tidal changes, season, latitude, and spatial distribution. Also, Aburto-
Oropeza et al. (2008) used a regression model to study the relationship between catch yields and the
presence of mangrove habitat in the Gulf of California in a large data set between 2001 and 2005. They
found that fish catch increased by the square root of the area of mangrove habitat. All three studies
suggest that by incorporating nonlinear relationships between ecosystem functions and values we can
Social scientists have also turned their attention to non-linearities and thresholds. Repetto (2006)
suggests that US environmental policy advanced primarily during short periods of rapid change. This has
led political scientists to inquire into the conditions that may allow rapid policy change and
implementation. Similar to their ecological counterparts, they see the value in understanding the location
7.
Before we can expect decision makers to act upon our understanding of complex ecological and
economic systems, first we must identify and measure the flows of ecosystem services. This process of
ecosystem service identification leads to a significant way in which this research distinguishes itself from
existing studies on the subject. My point of departure is the demand for ecosystem services instead of the
supply. Most studies on ecosystem services begin with a particular ecosystem of interest: the coastal
mountains of Northern California (Chan et al. 2006), the montane forests on Hawaiis Kona islands
(Goldstein 2007), the coastal habitat of Thailand (Barbier et al. 2008) or the mangrove forests of Baja
California (Aburto-Oropeza et al. 2008). Having selected an ecosystem of inquiry, researchers proceed to
describe the services generated by that ecosystem. In most cases, the local populations are passive or
unaware recipients of the services provided by the ecosystem of interest, and new values are attributed to
lands that previously were not valued in the market. The unspoken assumption behind these studies is that
if the local populations were aware of the services, they would seek to protect them.
Instead of following the mainstream approach, in which one first characterizes the range of
ecosystem services in the study area, I start by studying the economic and technological system that
generates the demand for a particular set of ecosystem service. In other words, rather than beginning with
the supply of existing services, I begin with the demand, or the users objectives. I start with the context
in which decisions are made and then identify ecosystem functions that can help resource users meet their
management goals. This allows me to target my ecological research to the specific needs of ecosystem
users. Identifying the demand for ecosystem services should also facilitate the adoption of these ideas in
practice.
The inability to act on ideas about ecosystem services is a major criticism of the field. But the
stuy of ecosystem services has been criticized for other reasons as well. To begin with, discussions about
ecosystem services often latch on to romantic notions of pristine areas or wilderness, which have
been discredited by environmental historians (Cronon 1995), geographers (Castree 2005) and ecological
scientists (Kareiva et al. 2007). And when programs pay landowners for services provided by ecosystems,
8.
the distributional outcomes are not exactly what one might anticipate, as marginalized communities may
disproportionately be excluded from conservation benefits (Corbera et al. 2007). Furthermore, research
on ecosystem services quantifies and commodifies our world (Kosoy and Corbera 2010). An obsession
with the utilitarian contribution of ecosystems to human well-being, especially with quanitifcation and
commodification, might lead us to ignore the larger complexities involved with functioning ecosystems
(Norgaard 2010). Norgaard has thus criticized the notion of ecosystem services a complexity blinder.
This criticism fits into a larger critique of centralized decision-making, objective measurement and the
Others criticize the field of ecosystem services for placing undue emphasis on the economic
arguments for conservation, and in this way, pushing aside the ethical or rights-based arguments to
motivate environmental protection (MCauley 2006, Child 2007). After all, human self-interest and market
forces are precisely what have caused ecosystems to be modified to begin with. These critics are wary that
the economic arguments may be less appealing when the calculations point in the other direction.
According to this view, what society needs is a stronger conservation ethic and less commodification, not
more (McCauley 2006). Certainly, even the most ardent defenders of ecosystem services must recognize
that the field of ecosystem services is anthropocentric, instrumental and somewhat reductionist. And yet
the ethical motivations for conservation have never been sufficient to change human behavior in the past,
and it is unlikely that this will change any time soon. At least this new integration with economics can
provide additional motivation for improving ecosystem management (Reid et al. 2006, Costanza 2006).
Despite these criticisms, the field of ecosystem services is growing (Fisher et al. 2009). The most
recent research analyzes tradeoffs between services (Kareiva et al. 2007; Raudsepp-Hearne, Peterson, and
Bennett 2010; Chan, Hoshizaki and Klinkenberg 2011). And advances in geographic information
systems (GIS) have given researchers the capacity to analyze multiple layers of physical and social data in
new ways. This has led to the creation of specialized software - such as Integrated Valuation of
Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) - that tabulates the ecosystem services generated from
9.
specific land units (Nelson et al. 2009, Bai et al. 2011, Fisher et al. 2011). The problem with this approach
is that researchers are more likely to focus on the biophysical conditions of the site without examining
how specific users may interact with or benefit from ecosystems. This follows the mainstream research
sequence in the field (Fig 1.1). Instead, research on ecosystem services would benefit from focusing on
the social and economic questions first (Cowling et al. 2008). Re-orienting the sequence of how
ecosystem services are studied, with a focus on the demand for ecosystem services first, is more likely to
capture the attention of decision makers. Moreover, a comprehensive valuation is often not necessary, as
long a research can show how policy makers can reach their objectives (Chapter 4, Powers et al. 2005,
In the chapters that follow I examine ecosystem services that influence water supplies.
Throughout the dissertation, I examine how resource managers balance technological choices and
Barcelona depends on the waters from the Llobregat River for municipal, agricultural and
industrial uses. The Llobregat River provides the region with 45% of its drinking water supply
(Mujeriego 2006). The other half comes from either groundwater sources or the Ter watershed to the
north-east. In a normal year, the Ter-Llobregat system supplies the Barcelona Metropolitan Region with a
total of 300 hm3, two thirds for urban use, and one third for industrial use (Saur 2003).
Barcelona had historically relied on groundwater to meet its drinking water needs. However
starting in 1955, the private firm Aguas de Barcelona (AGBAR) financed the construction of the new
treatment facility on the shores of the Llobregat River at the base of the watershed (Bolaos 2004). Yet
even after the construction of the new facility, demand continued to rise, and in the 1960s, Barcelona
expanded its territorial reach for freshwater by pumping in supplies from the Ter watershed.
10.
The region of Catalonia in Spain relies largely on reservoirs to meet its water needs. Indeed,
Spain is a global leader in the construction of dams, with one of the greatest number of dams per capita in
the world (Arrojo and Naredo 1997, Bakker 2002, Arrojo 2003). In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the
Spanish government built several large dams throughout the Pyrenees Mountains. Today, three major
dams regulate water flows in the Llobregat watershed: Sant Pon (1956), Baells (1976), and Llosa del
Cavall (1997). The Llobregat reservoir system has a capacity of 139 hm3 while the neighboring Ter
In 1980 a consortium of private firms built a second major water treatment facility on the
Llobregat River in the town of Abrera, upstream of ABGARs existing facility. Ownership of the
treatment plant changed hands several times until the Catalan government finally took control from
AGBAR (personal comment Antoni Bernal, January 2010). The public water agency Aiges Ter
Llobregat (ATLL) now manages this facility. ATLL is a water wholesaler that treats water sources and
sells potable water to municipal providers. ATLL is publically run however the Catalan Government has
plans to outsource the management to a private firm (Expansin 2011). Both water treatment plants must
Water managers at the ATLL and AGBAR treatment facilities have been dealing with
contaminants in the Llobregat River for decades (Lloret 2004, Estevan and Prat 2006). In particular, mine
tailings upstream release salts and bromides into the river. For years, relocating the mine tailings has been
considered financially prohibitive (ACA 2006). To alleviate the pollution coming from the mines, in
1989, ACA financed the construction of a brine collector that significantly reduced the tailings impact on
water quality. However bromides in the water supply still react with disinfectants during the treatment
process to form carcinogenic compounds called trihalomethanes (THMs) (Sorlini and Collivignarelli
2005). Drinking water standards require total THM content to be under 100 g/L as of January 1, 2009
11.
Between 2008 and 2009 both ATLL and AGBAR installed new desalination or membrane
technologies to remove contaminants and safely comply with new drinking water quality standards. The
public water treatment facility managed by ATLL installed an electrodialysis reversal (EDR) system,
while further downstream, the private water company AGBAR installed reverse osmosis (RO)
technology. The AGBAR treatment facility also extracts groundwater from an aquifer that is experiencing
seawater intrusion, further compounding the salinity problem in its water supply.
Llobregat Watershed
The Llobregat River flows 170 kilometers from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea
in the north eastern region of Catalonia, Spain (Fig 1.3). The watershed covers 4,948 km2 making it
Catalonias largest watershed entirely within the jurisdiction of the autonomous community (Lloret 2004).
The Llobregat is a fourth order stream whose primary tributaries include the Cardener, the Anoia, Rub,
The upper segment of the watershed receives 1,000 mm of precipitation a year, while the mid
section only 400 mm and the coast approximately 550 mm per year. In one year, approximately 660
cubic hectometers (hm3) of water flows down the Llobregat (Mujeriego 2006), although this discharge is
highly variable, and annual flows vary between 230 to 1,870 hm3. The river also feeds into a
groundwater aquifer below the Llobregat Delta, contributing approximately 57 hm3 per year. The rivers
hydrological contribution to the aquifer is nearly three times the contribution received from precipitation
12.
Figure 1.3 The Llobregat watershed in north eastern Spain.
13.
In 2000 the European Union approved legislation designed to restore rivers and lakes across the
continent. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) set targets and timetables for restoring water bodies
to a good ecological status by 2015 (EU 2000). A major legislative innovation included the requirement
to conduct an economic analysis prior to major policy decisions. Non-compliance with the WFD may
result in monetary fines and reduce the member states bargaining power within the European Union.
Thus the WFD is seen as an integrative piece of legislation that responds to the expectations of watershed
While the WFD marks a major turning point for freshwater management in Europe, countries are
allowed to exclude certain water bodies from meeting the good ecological status requirement if they
can demonstrate that the costs disproportionately exceed the benefits of restoration (Hanley and Black
2006). As written, this provision pushes the economic analysis to center stage, and yet the environmental
community is concerned that it will allow governments to shirk their restoration responsibility for
restoring aquatic ecosystems (personal comment Daniel Barb, October 2009). Still, the Catalan Water
Agency has worked earnestly to meet the WFD timetable and targets. As of 2010, Catalonia was the only
autonomous community in Spain to have fulfilled its obligations in the WFD before the European Union
However Spains current budgetary crisis threatens to chip away at the progress made. Drastic
budget cuts at the Catalan Water Agency are likely to postpone restoration projects for rivers, lakes, and
estuaries. Currently the water agency is burdened with a debt of 1.3 billion that the Catalan Government
has promised to restructure and reduce (Arbol 2011, Zann 2011). Up to 40% of the staff at the water
agency may be cut by the end of 2012 (Garriga 2011). To further raise revenue, the Catalan government
is exploring the possibility of leasing its public water treatment facilities - currently managed by the
public agency ATLL - to a private firm (Garriga 2011). The prospect of transferring water treatment and
distribution activities to the private sector has raised criticisms from civil society organizations, who
14.
assert that private operators will prioritize profit over service quality, capital investment and ecological
restoration (Garriga 2011b). Critics also question why water rates did not increase in the period when the
public enterprise was entering into debt. Instead, rate increases are likely to be pushed onto the public
once the water concession is contracted with the private sector (LEconomic 2011). Negotiations are still
underway between the water agency and prospective private operators. Throughout 2012 and beyond, the
organization and structure of the water sector in Catalonia will continue to evolve.
15.
- THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK -
16.
CHAPTER 2. ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE LLOBREGAT
WATERSHED
Abstract
This chapter examines the history of water use in the Llobregat watershed to explain why urban
planners in Barcelona, Spain were compelled to install desalination water treatment technology along the
Llobregat River instead of exploring other options, including the management of ecosystem services. In
later chapters I explore how these technologies have created new opportunities for managing and valuint
ecosystem functions and structures. But first I examine how we got here -- to a high tech system of water
treatment and distribution. The answer can be found by reviewing the origins of a river pollution conflict
that has vexed water managers for nearly a century. This historical analysis also explains why water
managers have frequently preferred technological solutions over ecosystem management practices. While
ecosystem restoration alone might not have resolved the salinity conflict that confronted water managers
in the 1920s and 1930s, the outcome of that confrontation shows a clear preference for the construction of
public works. The key stakeholders in this quarrel set aside their differences in other respects and came
together to agree that the river pollution problem could be easily resolved with the construction of a brine
collector and a dam in the mid section of the watershed. The consensus on this issue set the city of
Barcelona down a trajectory of river and water management that favored structural solutions to address
This chapter is divided into two parts. In the first segment I review the salinity conflict in the
Llobregat and Cardener Rivers in the first half of the twentieth century. Previous research had identified
the origin of the conflict in 1926, but only mentioned this date in passing without providing additional
details. I have sought to take a closer look at the first decade of this conflict and study the planning
process that followed once it became clear that Barcelonas water supply was in danger of becoming
irreversibly polluted. I find that the deliberations of the CESALL Commission in 1931 and 1932 were the
17.
first exercise in watershed planning in the Llobregat basin and their recommendations have had a lasting
In the second segment I show how notions of ecosystem services were discussed as an alternative
strategy for flood control in the late 19th century. Thanks to the writings of a forester, Rafael Puig Valls
(1845-1920), we know that the restoration of forest ecosystems in the Pyrenees mountains became a
serious management alternative for mitigating floods in the Llobregat watershed. This ecosystem
approach serves as a precedent for contemporary discussions on ecosystem services in the Llobregat
watershed.
Keywords: Cardener River, history ecosystem services, Llobregat River, salinity pollution, watershed
planning
18.
2.1 Introduction
Before humans withdrew water from the Llobregat River to irrigate their crops, propel their mills,
or transport their waste, the river was a major source of problems; a threat and a nuisance; an obstacle and
a barrier. First and foremost, the rivers floods threatened to wash away life and property. The first
recorded flood dates back to 1143, in an event that washed away the stone bridge at Martorell constructed
by the Romans.1 Soldiers, merchants and travelers had used the bridge as a critical river crossing along
the Via Augusta; a transportation artery along the rim of the Mediterranean that connected Imperial Rome
with the Mediterranean port of Tarraco in Hispania Citerior and the silver mines in Carthago Nova in
Hispania Ulterior.2 In the years that followed this first recorded flood, between 1143 and 1900, historians
have counted 129 additional floods along the Llobregat.3 All were large enough to wash away bridges,
boats, people and property; and at minimum, generate sufficient wreckage so as to leave behind written
record. We can safely assume that many more floods swept through the Llobregat without leaving
historical trace.
The first concession to draw water from the Llobregat was signed by King Jaume I of Aragon and
Catalonia in 1273 and granted to the monks of Sant Cugat del Valls so that they could nurture their
crops. In 1321, the Kings son, Jaume II, granted another concession allowing river dwellers to harness
the rivers energy.4 Former inhabitants along the Llobregat River have left us with clues about how they
administered the rivers waters, such as irrigation canals, or medieval bridges. Past water users have also
left us with the nomenclature of familiar places that can easily be traced back to the river; the town of
Molins de Rei was named after the first hydro-powered mill constructed with consent from the King, and
1
Codina, J. 1971. El delta del Llobregat i Barcelona. Gneres i formes de vida dels segles XVI al XX. Hores de
Catalunya. Esplugues de Llobregat: Edicions Ariel.
2
Hughes, R. 1992. Barcelona. New York: Knopf.
3
Codina, J. 1971. El delta del Llobregat i Barcelona. Gneres i formes de vida dels segles XVI al XX. Hores de
Catalunya. Esplugues de Llobregat: Edicions Ariel.
4
Ibid.
19.
Sant Andreu de la Barca was the site where one could cross the river in a boat.5 However more subtly,
and perhaps more importantly, past water users have left us with certain ideas about how rivers should be
managed. These inherited ideas configure and constrain our relationship with the waters that rivers carry.
We are all subjected to this historic influence. It is an influence that often goes unnoticed and
unquestioned. These ideas shape how we speak about rivers, our assumptions about what should be done
to them, our view of the rivers natural conditions, and our expectations about future possibilities. In this
chapter I argue that our current system of water treatment and distribution reflects a historic tradition that
has favored technological solutions to water problems. We see this in the recommendations of the
CESALL Commission in 1932, which outlined a structural approach for addressing the Llobregat Rivers
At the same time, the historic review uncovers an alternative perspective as well. Not everyone
advocated for engineered approaches to water management. This alternative was most clearly articulated
by a forester, Rafael Puig Valls, who advocated for the management of forest ecosystems in order to
mitigate flood damage. While Puig Valls made innovative proposals for his time, he was not the first to
stress human reliance on ecosystems. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato has been credited with first
appreciating humans dependency on ecosystems when he observed that the deforestation of the Attica
caused fertile soils to erode and springs to disappear.6 But it was not until the nineteenth century that
George Perkins Marsh systematically compiled evidence showing that human societies depended on
environmental support systems. Relying mostly on historical texts published in Europe, Marsh wrote Man
and Nature in 1864, which was subsequently revised as The Earth as Modified by Human Action in 1874.
Both texts synthesize the ecological knowledge of the time as it pertained to the progress (or decline) of
civilizations and human well being. Working at the nexus between ecology and human history, Marsh
5
Codina, J. 1971. El delta del Llobregat i Barcelona. Gneres i formes de vida dels segles XVI al XX. Hores de
Catalunya. Esplugues de Llobregat: Edicions Ariel.
6
Mooney, H., and Ehrlich, P. 1997. Ecosystem Services: A Fragmentary History. In G. C. Daily, Nature's Services:
Societal dependence on natural ecosystems (pp. 11-19). Washington, D.C: Island Press.
20.
wanted his description of ecological processes to excite an interest in a topic of much economical
importance.7
Marsh lamented that human societies appreciated ecosystem functions only after their services
were lost. He wrote, the destructive agency of man becomes more and more energetic and unsparing as
he advances in civilization, until the impoverishment, with which his exhaustion of the natural resources
of the soil is threatening him, at last awakens him to the necessity of preserving what is left, if not
restoring what has wantonly been wasted.8 Marsh provides examples of environmental mismanagement
in Asia Minor, Northern Africa, Greece and Alpine Europe, whereby action by man has brought the face
of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as the moon.9 After reviewing countless cases of decline
across different cultures and continents, Marsh became convinced that unwise ecosystem management
contributed to societal impoverishment. The decay of these once flourishing countries is partly due, no
doubt to the direct violence of human force..[and] ignorant disregard of the laws of nature.10 Marsh
noted that ecosystems retained valuable soils and stabilized hydrologic flows. Later I will discuss Marshs
observations concerning hydrology in more detail, but for now, suffice to say that Marsh was probably the
first to write about human dependence on functioning ecosystems with such detail.
However before embarking on the historic analysis, I begin with the present; where we find that
Barcelona has built a system of water production that is technologically sophisticated and energy
intensive. Taking a brief look at water distribution today gives us clues about the sorts of ideas that water
The high tech water treatment systems installed along the Llobregat River are the latest in a series
of technological fixes to a river pollution problem that is decades old. The salinity contamination of the
Llobregat from mining activity has even been called Catalonias most severe environmental problem; and
7
Marsh, G. P. 1874. The Earth as Modified by Human Action. A New Edition of Man and Nature. London:
Sampson Low, Marston Low, and Searle. Republished by Elibron Classics 2006. p 9
8
Ibid. p 39
9
Ibid. p 43
10
Ibid. p 5
21.
if the new desalination systems serve as evidence, the issue remains unresolved. The history of salt
pollution in the Llobregat and Cardener Rivers helps us understand the connections between past
conflicts, the solutions put forward, and contemporary water challenges. I trace this river pollution
conflict from its origin in 1926, through the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939, and then rapidly bring it up to
the present.
Then I move on to discuss the competing proposals to mitigate flood damage in the Llobregat
watershed, with a focus on the Cabrianes dam project proposed in the 1890s. In this discussion on flood
management we can see a clear alternative to the mainstream approach that relied on structural solutions.
The writings of Rafael Puig Valls advocated for the management and restoration of ecosystem services
for the benefit of downstream water users. Puig Valls sought to apply knowledge from the ecological
sciences to construct a viable alternative to the structural approaches to flood control that dominated the
era. Interestingly, the debate that Puig Valls began in the nineteenth century closely mirrors current
ideological divisions in the watershed today. Many of Puig Valls proposals for reforestation were
eventually adopted during the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936), but ultimately his ideas about
ecosystem management failed to displace the hegemony of structural approaches to water management.
And by taking a look at contemporary water treatment in Barcelona, we can appreciate just how
upstream. To remove the salts and dissolved solids from the river, water managers have turned to
sophisticated desalination systems. In the late 2000s, the combined cost of installing both desalination
22.
systems surpassed 130 million.11 Moreover the operation of these treatment technologies requires an
enormous amount of energy. The electrodialysis reversal (EDR) system run by Aiges Ter Llobregat
(ATLL) consumes approximately 13 Giga Watt hours (GWh) per year, at a cost of 1.2 million per year.
Downstream, the ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis system operated by Aguas de Barcelona (AGBAR)
consumes approximately 21 GWh per year, for an energy expense of 2 million per year.12 In other
words, the energy consumed to treat water from Llobregat River each year would be sufficient to meet the
energy needs for the entire city of Barcelona; including gas for cars, electricity for air conditioners, lights
and televisions etc... for two full days. The decision to install desalination technology on the banks of the
Llobregat River was a strategic choice to trade energy for freshwater. It also committed the Barcelona
metropolitan region to spend 3.8 million per year to desalinate water that, at its source in the Pyrenees, is
of superb quality.
Not only is desalination expensive and energy consuming, but the membranes are complex to
operate and vulnerable to fouling. Feed water entering the membranes must be groomed to meet exacting
pre-treatment standards. Feeding the high-tech apparatus with unbalanced water could severely damage
the capital investment and reduce long term efficiency. For example, aluminum compounds are used at
the beginning of the treatment process to remove suspended solids and particles from the river water.
However the aluminum added must be removed before entering the reverse osmosis membranes to
prevent fouling. Water treatment engineers precipitate the aluminum by reducing the pH, but excessive
pH reduction will cause the water to release carbon dioxide which is later added, at a cost, for more
11
Valero, F., and Arbs, R. 2010. Desalination of brackish river water using Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) Control
of the THMs formation in the Barcelona (NE Spain) area. Desalination 253:170-174.; Pedraz Yaez, G. 2007.
Proyecto y obra de la Mejora del Tratamiento de Aguas por Osmosis Inversa en la ETAP de Sant Joan Despi.
Documento 1. Memoria. Barcelona: Aguas de Barcelona.
12
Calculations by author
23.
balanced smell and taste.13 Any misstep in the treatment process could drastically increase treatment
What led Barcelona down this path of technological sophistication, energy intensity and high
treatment costs? This historical review will analyze the circumstances that led water managers to favor
this complex system for water treatment, over alternative options of ecosystem management.
13
Pedraz Yaez, G. 2007. Proyecto y obra de la Mejora del Tratamiento de Aguas por Osmosis Inversa en la ETAP
de Sant Joan Despi. Documento 1. Memoria. Aguas de Barcelona: Barcelona.
24.
Figure 2.1 The Llobregat Watershed
25.
2.3 Salinity Conflict
Minerals have been extracted from Llobregat watershed for centuries, especially in the mountains
surrounding the medieval town of Cardona (Fig 2.1). The Romans who settled in Cardona extracted
sodium chloride (NaCl), more commonly referred to as table salt, from an emerging salt dome that
penetrated the earths surface.14 Geologists call these salty protrusions diapirs, and they are part of the
areas natural geology. The salt deposits are the product of tectonic movements that pushed the Iberian
Peninsula into mainland Europe.15 The collision enclosed ocean waters in an enormous lake filled with
salt water. Over time, the water evaporated, leaving behind layers of minerals including sodium chloride,
potassium chloride, and magnesium chloride. Further tectonic movements buried the lake bed, and then
pushed certain sections back up to the surface. With the exception of the salt diapir emerging in Cardona,
the salts are usually hundreds of meters below ground. In Sria, where the salt minerals are closest to the
surface, the salt is 150 meters below.16 Mining for table salt peaked in the 18th century and then declined
steadily. The extraction of salt was replaced by a more valuable mineral: potassium chloride (KCl).
Local legend asserts that potassium chloride was discovered by accident when locals noticed that their
livestock refused to eat the salts they would normally devour.17 Laboratory analysis by the Frenchman
News of the discovery generated considerable excitement. Potassium was a valuable fertilizer for
agriculture, and useful as an explosive in war. Prior to the confirmation of potassium deposits in Sria, it
was believed that only Germany, France and Poland had domestic sources.19 Under pressure by regional
14
Fbrega Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis: La Sal i la Potassa a Sria 1185-1982. Ajuntament de Sria &
Iberpotash.
15
Arnau Reitg, R. 1981. La mineria del Bages: una visi retrospectiva. XXVI Assemblea Intercomarcal d'estudiosos
a Manresa (pp. 53-58). Manresa: Centre d'Estudis del Bages.
16
CESALL Report.1932. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (ANC) Fons 547. Agncia Catalana de l'Aigua. Unitat 479.
17
Fbrega Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis: La Sal i la Potassa a Sria 1185-1982. Ajuntament de Sria &
Iberpotash.
18
Ibid.
19
Arnau Reitg, R. 1981. La mineria del Bages: una visi retrospectiva. XXVI Assemblea Intercomarcal d'estudiosos
a Manresa (pp. 53-58). Manresa: Centre d'Estudis del Bages.
26.
politicians in Manresa, the Spanish Cortes in Madrid quickly modified the mining legislation to expedite
The Belgium chemical firm Solvay took the lead in developing the potassium mines in the
Llobregat watershed. They began their operations in Sria - where the initial discovery came to light -
located on the Cardener River between Manresa and Cardona (Fig 2.1). Solvay was a reputable chemical
firm founded by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay (1838-1922), and in 1920 they set up their Spanish
subsidiary Minas de Potasa de Sria. That year a managerial elite from Belgium descended onto the
small town to run the operations. Solvay sent Norbert Fonthier, a disciplined ex-Army officer and World
War I veteran to run the mining subsidiary.21 Fonthier was a highly disciplined manager, who paid keen
attention to detail, and dutifully relayed major decisions back to headquarters in Brussels.
As an initial sign of goodwill to their Spanish hosts, in 1920 Solvay donated funds to construct a
public water system that would guarantee 150,000 liters of potable freshwater per day for the towns
3,200 residents.22 In a display of appreciation for this generous gift, Sria renamed the street in front of
City Hall, Avenida Ernest Solvay, making the name of the Belgian chemist ubiquitous on municipal
letterhead. The town also engraved two plaques to commemorate the privately financed water system; one
on the faade of City Hall and a second in the City Hall courtyard (Fig 2.2). What the residents of Sria
could not fathom was that the same company that brought them clean water to their town of 3,200 would
soon threaten the water supply of one million residents in Barcelona.23 It is hard to believe that such a gift
was coincidental, and suggests that the Belgian chemists and engineers already understood the
relationship between their plans to extract potassium and water pollution. Perhaps because Minas de
20
See letters between the Mayor of Manresa, Sr. D. Maurici Fius Pala and the Director of Agriculture, Mines and
Mountains in 1914. Arxiu Comarcal del Bages, Manresa.
21
The first Director of Minas de Potasa de Sria was Louis Dupont, who was followed by Van Styovoort, and
finally Norbert Fonthier who led the firm until the Spanish Civil War.
22
Reguant, J. 1997. Sria: Histria en imatges. 1894-1975. Angle Editorial. Manresa, Spain.
23
Tello, E., and Ostos, J. 2011. Water consumption in Barcelona and its regional environmental imprint: a long-term
history (1717-2008). Regional Environmental Change 1-15.
27.
Potasa de Sria anticipated their companys huge demand for water, they first ensured that local needs
Figure 2.2 A plaque in Sria hangs on the faade of City Hall that that commemorates the renaming of
the street Avenue Ernest Solvay. The plaque reads: Avenue Mr. Ernest Solvay. Illustrious chemist and
engineer, maker of good works for humanity and founder of the Society Solvay who donated potable
water to Sria. 1838-1922 (Photograph by the author)
Small scale potassium mining in Sria had begun in 1918, but poor road conditions to and from
the mines severely limited the volumes they could haul to market each day. To scale up production,
Minas de Potasa de Sria built a rail line connecting their mine to the port of Barcelona where their
minerals could then be shipped around the world. With help from the Spanish authorities, the rail line
was finished in 1925, after which, large scale mining began. The new rail line allowed freight cars to haul
potassium out from the mountains near Sria, and the rise in sales was meteoric. The mining company
sold 2,989 tons of potassium chloride in 1925, a figure which more than doubled the next year to 8,386
tons, and doubled again to 16,084 tons in 1927. By 1928 operations were in full swing and Minas de
Potasa de Sria employed 857 workers.24 That same year, the Spanish Government decreed a law
24
Reguant, J. 1997. Sria: Histria en imatges. 1894-1975. Angle Editorial. Manresa, Spain.
28.
obliging the mining company to produce a minimum of 30,000 tons for the Spanish market. Exports were
only permitted if internal demand was satisfied, and the export price had to be higher than domestic
prices.25
Minas de Potasa de Sria had close ties with the Spanish government and monarchy. These
relations were developed with the help of Don Amadeu Hurtado de Glvez-Caero, hired by the mining
company to represent the firm in Madrid and to make the appropriate government contacts when needed.
As an example of these close ties, in 1924 a mining executive from Minas de Potasa de Sria was
knighted to the Order of Queen Isabella la Catolica. But the mining companys close relationship with
the Spanish government weakened during Spains transition to a democracy in 1931, after which, more
Doa Antnia Burs Borrs (1854-1928) was the first to complain about the salt being dumped in
the Cardener River by Minas de Potasa de Suria (Fig 2.3). She was a woman with extraordinary wealth,
power and personality, and yet her impressive pedigree was insufficient to halt the river contamination.
Clashes over water rights were nothing new for the Burs family. Antnia Burs came from a powerful
industrial class that had made their fortune from Catalonias waterways, and were highly sensitive to
modifications in the rivers flow. For decades already, these industrial families had fought to control the
rivers current and the energy it helped them produce. Therefore the appearance of the mining company
in the 1920s threatened to break the existing equilibrium among industrial water users. However in the
legal complaint Burs filed against the mining company in 1926, she added another new dimension to this
tussle water quality. In addition to her claim against the illegal water withdrawal, she asserted that
Minas de Potasa de Sria was impurifying the rivers waters. The mineralized effluent from the mines
25
Gazeta de Madrid 1928. Nm 15. 15 enero 1928 p 436.
29.
corroded the metallic turbines that propelled her hydro-powered textile factory in Antius.26 Her claim
against the mining company, one that combined charges about water withdrawals and water quality,
makes it difficult to ascertain the relative weight she placed on water quality considerations. Other
historians have suggested that her charge concerning water pollution was merely a way to pile on
accusations against the mining company, when in practice, the real conflict was about protecting water
rights.27
Certainly, losing water rights was an expensive proposition. Her business relied on generous
flows from the Cardener River to produce valuable electricity. Antnia Burs owned a water concession
for 5 cubic meters per second that she used to propel a hydro-electric turbine in Antius with a 7.2 meter
vertical drop (Fig 2.4). A hydro-generator with these characteristics could produce 212 kW of
electricity.28 When flows were too low, as often was the case in summer months, the factory was forced
to switch to steam engines. Of course, factory owners were reluctantly to turn on the steam engines,
Antnia Burs Borrs was born into a family of the emerging industrial bourgeoisie that had
relied on hydropower for decades. Antnias father, Esteve Burs Arderiu, had founded a large company
town that produced fabric by capturing hydraulic energy from the Llobregat River (Fig 2.5). Hydropower
was a relatively inexpensive energy source, although not without its inconveniences. River banks were
rocky, isolated from towns, had poor road access and were vulnerable to periodic flooding. These desolate
sites lacked even the most basic infrastructure. The distance between the planned industry and existing
towns presented a considerable challenge for prospective entrepreneurs. The factory workers would need
more than a place to work, but also a place to live, to house their families and to educate their children.
26
Personal Communication. Esteve Torrens Prez de los Cabos. January 2011.
27
Fbrega Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis: La Sal i la Potassa a Sria 1185-1982. Ajuntament de Sria &
Iberpotash.
28
The electricity generated is a function of head (vertical drop), discharge and gravity. Therefore the electrical
power in Watts generated under these circumstances is: 7.2 m*5,000 liters/s * 9.8 m/s2 = 353 kW. I assume 60%
efficiency so only 212 kW of electricity is generated. For more information on the calculation of electrical
generation with hydropower see http://www.reuk.co.uk/Calculation-of-Hydro-Power.htm
30.
Industry leaders responded by embedding their textile mills within a company town complete with
employee housing, a school, a general store, a church, and often a theater. In effect, the industrialists who
set up shop along the Catalonias rivers accepted their workers personal and social needs as a cost of
business. Their business model went beyond the creation of an efficient factory floor, and attempted to
construct an efficient social structure for production. They created isolated societies in which everything
revolved around the production of textiles. The patrons paternalistic provision for their workers and
families earned the owners a degree of control over their labor force in addition to loyalties that lasted
generations. In exchange, the workers received a secure income and above average working and living
Antnia Burs married Llogarri Torrens Serra, whose family had also made a fortune producing
textiles. Llogarri Torrens died in 1915 leaving her a widow. Over time, she became a well-known
resident of Manresa and locals began referring to her extravagant home as La Buresa, a name that remains
today. Antnia Burs left behind a paper trail that suggests that she was an active widow who managed
the properties of her late husband. One of these properties included the Antius textile mill on the
Cardener River; the site where the water pollution conflict along the Cardener and Llobregat rivers
originally began.
By 1925, mining activity had begun in Sria in earnest. As mining activity increased, so did the
volume of salty effluent being dumped into the Cardener River by the mining companies. While it is
likely that several farmers felt the impact of the salty waters in their irrigation canals, few had the political
clout to challenge the mining company. Antnia Burs became the first to break the silence. In a letter
dated September 30th 1926, she filed a complaint with the Water Resources Authority against the mining
company Minas de Potasa de Sria S. A. for impurifying the waters of the Cardener.29 In an era when
woman were excluded from business and legal affairs, it was remarkable that Antnia Burs was the first
29
Letter from Delegat of Serveis Hidrulics del Prineu Oriental to Mayor of Barcelona. 7 October 1933. Obres
Pbliques. CV 50/237 1933. La contaminaci de les aiges del riu Llobregat amb motiu de la explotaci de les
mines de potasa de Sria. Arxiu Municipal Contemporani de Barcelona.
31.
with the courage to raise the issue. Although she died soon after her complaint was filed, her son,
Esteban Torrens Burs, continued to organize the industrial water users and their oposition to the illegal
Antnia Burs inaugurated a water pollution conflict that would last for decades. The subsequent
controversy would transform water management, infrastructure development and water treatment in the
Barcelona metropolitan region for the next seventy five years and well into the twenty first century. As
such, her letter to the Water Resources Authority marked the opening chapter in an enduring conflict over
salinity values in the Cardener and Llobregat Rivers. More powerful figures would eventually join her
cause, including the private water company Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona, the Barcelonas
Municipal Laboratory, the La Vanguardia newspaper, and the Mayor of Barcelona. Still, being first did
not help her case. To the contrary, she would also be the first to fall in defeat against the powerful mining
interests that repeatedly succeeded in evading responsibility for their effluents. But her claim did help
justify the formation of a commission to study the salinity problem in the Cardener and Llobregat Rivers
in 1928, another in 1929 and a third investigation in 1931. However by the time the last and most
influential investigation began in 1931, the potash mines had already consolidated their power in
Catalonia.
Figure 2.3 Antnia Burs Borrs (1854-1928). (Photograph courtesy of Esteban Torrens Prez de los
Cabos)
32.
Figure 2.4 The Antius colony along the Cardener River owned and managed by the Torrens Burs
family. (Photograph courtesy of Esteban Torrens Prez de los Cabos)
Figure 2.5 The Llobregat River in its passage through Castellbell i el Vilar. The Burs factory and
company town is on the left bank of the river, and was built by Esteve Burs Arderiu, father of Antonia
Burs Borrs. (Photograph by the author)
33.
Figure 2.6 The modernist home owned by Antonia Burs Borrs in Barcelona on Ausias March 46.
Notice the inscription of initials A.B. above the doorway. (Photograph by the author)
Watershed Planning
In January 1927 the Governor of the Province of Barcelona reviewed the lawsuit submitted by
Burs and ordered Minas de Potasa de Sria to halt the illegal water withdrawals until the company had
obtained the appropriate water concessions. The mining company challenged the Governors resolution
and a legal battle ensued between the extractive industry and the owners of the textile factories. The
plaintiffs were organized by the son of Antonia Burs, Esteban Torrens Burs, who rallied together an
alliance of industry leaders to defend their pre-existing water rights. New diversions upstream, especially
illegal ones from a growing industry, threatened their energy source and posed a significant challenge to
34.
With tensions rising between Minas de Potasa de Sria and the industrial leaders along the
Cardener, the Spanish Ministry for Economic Development dispatched their lead engineer, Carlos Santa
Mara, to review the claims and draft a summary report with recommendations. This would be the first of
several investigations. On March 31st 1928, Santa Mara concluded that Minas de Potasa de Sria was
indeed, illegally diverting water from the Cardener River, and that the mining process appreciably
increases the mineralization of the river. While he did not feel that this contamination was an immediate
danger to public health, he did recommend for the formation of a committee comprised of specialists
representing a wide range of backgrounds to study the urgent issue.30 He also suggested that Minas de
Potasa de Sria install devices to monitor the quality and volumes of their effluent.
None of these recommendations materialized. Instead, on November 20th 1928, the Spanish
Government requested that experts from the mining industry take charge of the issue. This group of
mining engineers and geologists were organized in a governmental panel called the Superior Board on the
Extraction of Potassium Salts.31 The Spanish government asked them to determine the maximum
admissible amount of salt that could be dumped into the river. At this point, there was no mention of how
the mining effluents were impacting drinking water supplies. The conflict remained between the mining
The Superior Board on the Extraction of Potassium Salts elected Agustn Marn y Bertran de Lis
to lead the investigation into the salty effluents flowing out of Sria. He was asked to coordinate a team
that would collect new data and make recommendations about how to harmonize industrial processes.
The Superior Board on the Extraction of Potassium Salts was comprised of mining specialists; and as a
group, there were exceptionally well qualified to study the mines impact on the Cardener and Llobregat
Rivers. More than anyone, they had an intimate understanding of the methods used by the mines to
extract potassium. They knew, for example, that Minas de Potasa de Sria depended on large volumes of
30
CESALL Report.1932. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (ANC) Fons 547. Agncia Catalana de l'Aigua. Unitat 479.
31
Junta Superior de Explotacin de Sales Potsicas
35.
water to dissolve the potassium chloride in the first phase of extraction. Once dissolved into a liquid
porridge, the miners separated the valuable potassium from other worthless compounds through a
decanting process. The problem was how to dispose of the remaining fluids, saturated in sodium chloride
and magnesium chloride. The easiest option was to open the flood gates leading into the Cardener River.
So when Agustn Marn was asked to study the salinity problem associated with the mining industry in
Sria, there was no doubt in his mind that the activity was releasing large volumes of chloride into the
Agustn Marn set out to answer this question by taking water samples from the Cardener River
above and below the mines. The samples taken in May 1929 showed that the mining company dumped
approximately 26,940 tons of sodium chloride and 51,840 tons of magnesium chloride into the river each
day (Table 2.1). Water quality samples were taken again in August 1929 with even more dramatic results
-- the volume of magnesium chloride quadrupled downstream of Minas de Potasa de Sria and sodium
chloride increased 50%. The Superior Board on the Extraction of Potassium Salts concluded that the
mines dumped approximately 100 tons of chloride into the river per day, diluted in a daily effluent of
15,000 cubic meters.32 However their internal discussions remained private, and the report they began to
prepare for the Spanish Government probably would have stayed confidential had the problem not
escalated. 33
While the mining experts were still tabulating the chloride loads released into the Cardener River,
the consequences of the chloride effluents began to be felt downstream. Sufficient chloride had travelled
32
CESALL Report 1932. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (ANC). Fons 547. Agncia Catalana de l'Aigua. Unitat 479
33
Marn co-lead the first investigation with Alonso Martnez. Mr. La Rosa and Mr. Santa Mara travelled to the
Cardener to take water quality samples, and Marn and Martnez were responsible for presenting the results to the
Board. Once the Board was informed that Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona has begun legal proceedings
against the mining company, the Board was approached by the representative of the mining company, Glvez-
Caero for assistance, at the Board meeting on Christmas Eve 1930. The Board then asked Mr. Kindeln and Mr.
La Rosa to visit the water company and the groundwater pumping stations in early 1931. Mr. Menndez Puget was
asked to visit the mining companies. Once the CESALL commission was created in March 1931, these working
groups were dissolved and they passed on their information to Marn, who sat on the CESALL commission.
(CESALL 1932)
36.
down the Cardener River, into the main stem of the Llobregat, and then percolated into the aquifer
beneath the Llobregat Delta, that chemists had begun to detect a rise in chloride concentrations in the
groundwater wells starting in 1926. In Molins de Rei, located several miles upstream of Barcelonas
wells, chemists noticed that chloride concentrations jumped 60% between 1928 and 1930; from 137 mg/L
to 220.4 mg/L. 34
25 March 1930
Upstream 69 57,760 69 57,960
Table 2.1. Results from the first water quality samples taken to assess the impact of mining effluents on
the salinity of the Cardener River between May 1929 and March 1930 by the Superior Board on the
Extraction Potassium Salts, upstream and downstream of mining activities in Sria. Reproduced from
data in CESALL (1932).
values in the freshwater aquifer at the pumping stations in Cornell (Fig 2.1). The aquifer was monitored
34
Elsewhere in the CESALL report, additional data is presented from the wells in Molins de Rei: 83.33 mg/L Cl
(August 1928), 124 mg/L Cl (July 1931), 187.7 mg/L (December 1931).
37.
closely given that it provided much of Barcelona with its drinking water. As a reference point for what
chloride concentrations were before mining activities, in 1915, three years prior to any mining of
potassium, Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona recorded a chloride concentration of 80 mg/L in the
aquifer.35 Ten years later, in 1925, precisely the year when industrial potassium mining began in Sria,
But by late 1929, the rise in chloride values in the Llobregat aquifer became a grave concern.
Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona gathered the evidence and presented their case to the responsible
water agencies in April 1930.37 These findings seriously concerned everyone involved, since no
technology was capable of removing the dissolved solids from the water supply. A rapid increase in
chloride concentrations could permanently contaminate the water source, causing major disruption to the
city of Barcelona, and financial ruin for the water company. Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona
quickly began to mobilize its resources and influence in order to protect the aquifer from further
contamination.
The water company executive, Jos Mara Soler Nolla, became the outspoken point person on this
issue for Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. When Soler Nolla contacted the responsible water
agencies in 1930, he learned that the water company was not the first to initiate legal proceedings against
Minas de Potasa de Sria for illegally dumping their waste into the river. The industrial leaders of the
Cardener valley, led by the son of Antnia Burs, Esteban Torrens Burs, in collaboration with Luis
Argem, and the Baron of Montclar, had already filed a case. But the recommendations from the first
investigation did not go far, and the second report was still being drafted by the mining experts behind
35
La Vanguardia 1935. March 23. La Salinidad de las Aguas del Llobregat. p 6.
36
CESALL Report.1932. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (ANC) Fons 547. Agncia Catalana de l'Aigua. Unitat 479.
37
Archive Aiges de Barcelona. Box 5615. Folder 15. Informe sobre la influencia que tienen las explotaciones
mineras en la cuenca del ro Llobregat en el aprovechamiento de aguas sublveas del mismo ro para el
abastecimiento de Barcelona y propuesta provisional. 3 November 1931.
38.
The threat of further contamination led the water company and their affiliated groundwater firm,
Empresa Concesionaria de Aguas Subterrneas del ro Llobregat, to file their first lawsuit requesting that
the Spanish Government address the salt contamination flowing from the mining town of Sria.38 The
entry of Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona into the controversy escalated the water conflict. What
previously was an isolated dispute along the Cardener River became a regional confrontation of national
significance.
Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona filed their claim during a transitional period between the
Primo de Rivera dictatorship, which ended in January 1930; and the democratic governments of the
Second Spanish Republic, inaugurated in April 1931.39 The transitional government took a more active
role mediating between the mining company in Sria and the water company in Barcelona.
The Spanish Government wanted a resolution that would meet the needs of both parties. It was
desirable for the mines to produce potassium fertilizers upstream, but downstream, the river needed to
arrive clean enough so that it would not harm existing users, especially municipal water suppliers. The
trouble was that the stakes were enormously high. Miscalculation could wipe out Barcelonas primary
source of freshwater. Salinization of the aquifer would also drive the water company into financial ruin.
This dismal outcome threatened to reverberate throughout the Spanish economy since Spanish banks had
recently acquired the private water company from French investors. Therefore the question regarding
how much salinity should be permitted to flow into the river was far too important to be left to the mining
interests alone to decide. More stakeholders needed to be brought to the table, and the recommendations
to emerge from the committee of experts needed to meet the interests of all involved.
38
Anonymous 1931. Informe sobre la influencia que tienen las explotaciones mineras en la cuenca del rio Llobregat
en el aprovechamiento de aguas subalveas del mismo rio para el abastecimiento de Barcelona y Propuesta
Provisional. AGBAR Archives. Box 5616. no. 15.
39
Spains Second Republic began following a landslide victory of pro-democratic political parties in Spains
Municipal Elections in April of 1931 and would last until the uprising led by General Francisco Franco in 1936.
39.
To meet these diverse needs and interests, a third investigation began in March 1931. The
Commission for the Study of the Salinity of the Waters of the Llobregat (CESALL)40 was tasked to
research the same questions as the investigations that came before them: quantify the extent of the salinity
pollution caused by the mining activity in Sria and recommend solutions to resolve the problem. The
composition of the CESALL commission struck a delicate balance among competing interests. Two
members were from the Water Resource Agency of the Eastern Pyrenees; one from the Mining
Department; another from the Public Health Department; the Director of the Municipal Laboratory of
Barcelona, Pedro Gonzalez; and finally, Agustn Marn y Bertran de Lis, representing the Superior Board
for the Extraction of Potassium Salts as the de-facto representative of the mining interests. Private parties
were invited to the CESALL commission as non-voting members: Jos Soler Nolla representing Sociedad
General Aguas de Barcelona; and Norbert Fonthier on behalf of Minas de Potasa de Sria. The Royal
Order that created the CESALL commission also specified that the expenses associated with the
Starting in May 1931, the CESALL commission met every other week at the conference room of
the Water Resource Agency of the Eastern Pyrenees on the Via Laietana no.10 in Barcelona. Once the
CESALL commission was established, events moved quickly. By the second CESALL meeting on June
2nd 1931, the second potassium mining firm, Unin Espaola de Explosivos had begun extracting potash
along the Cardener River in Cardona. This worked to the advantage of Minas de Potasa de Sria because
it allowed them to point fingers at their neighbor for contributing to the salinization of the Cardener and
Llobregat Rivers. The new arrivals also allowed Minas de Potasa de Sria to claim that they were being
unfairly burdened with the expenses of the CESALL commission, when in practice, other mining
companies were also contributing to the problem. Within the year, a third mining company, Potasas
Ibricas, would also set up operations on the right bank of the Llobregat River near Sallent, further
immediately. They began with a fact finding mission to quantify the damages associated with the salty
effluents. The CESALL commission sent out a public inquiry asking farmers, municipal governments,
and industry leaders, to report the damages incurred by the river salinization.41 Farmers reported that their
crops had suffered, but that the specifics eluded quantification because too many variables obfuscated the
precise causal relationships between river water quality and harvest yields. Furthermore, farmers expected
that the salinization of their land would be gradual, rendering their fields barren over time. There was no
doubt in farmers minds, however, that salinity values had increased. The Municipal Government of Olesa
de Montserrat wrote on behalf of their residents in the summer of 1931, That the water in the Llobregat
is now saltier than it was a few years ago, is public knowledge, and that this fact is unfavorable to
agriculture, is evident.42
Of all the institutions who responded to the CESALL Commissions request for information
regarding the salinity of the Llobregat River, Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona was the most
interested party. Their business depended on protecting the aquifer whose waters they treated and
pumped into the homes of the urban elite.43 The chloride entering the aquifer was irreversibly changing
the waters composition. Even small amounts could alter the taste to the palate. While the water
professionals did not foresee any health problems associated with chloride in the drinking supply, there
was a concern that the unpleasant taste would discourage new users from connecting to the urban
41
Boletn Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona (BOPB) 1931. Comisin para el Estudio de la Salinidad de las Aguas
del Llobregat. 9 June 1931. No 137. Nmero disposicin 7472.
42
Letter from town of Olesa de Montserrat to CESALL in response to the public call for information on the salinity
problems in the Llobregat watershed (BOPB. 9 June 1931). AGBAR Archives. Box 5615. No. 12.
Que el agua del Llobregat, de unos aos a esta parte baja ms salada que antes, es un hecho pblico, que esta
particularidad no puede ser favorable a la agricultura, es evidente
43
Martn Pasqual, J.M. 2007. Aigua i Societat a Barcelona entre les dues Exposicions (1888-1929). Doctoral
Dissertation. Departament dHistria Contempornea i Moderna. Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona.
44
Lo que ocurre es que el agua llegara a ser salada y, por consiguiente, desagradable para la bebida, y entonces
las gentes la rechazaran. Y como la inmensa mayora de los barceloneses no puede permitirse el lujo de beber
41.
For years Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona had relied on the filtration services of the
aquifer which removed particles and suspended solids. The director of Sociedad General Aguas de
Barcelona proudly claimed that the waters captured at our wells in Cornell, after a horizontal filtration
of various kilometers and a vertical filtration of forty meters, has a biological purity that cannot be beat by
any water source in the world. He added, But unfortunately, not even this filtration nor chemical
The private water company was also nervous about the destabilizing effects that this
contamination episode could have on its consumers and the working class. The political risks were
emphasized in the water companys concluding remarks to the president of the CESALL Commission:
Forgive me, Don Enrique, for my insistence, but the issue concerns me more and more,
especially during these times of quarrels and popular revolts, I do not know what would
happen if one day, after serving Barcelona with salt water, we would force people to
endure an enormous financial burden to replace the water that now flows to their faucets
During the summer of 1931 the salinity problems were aggravated by drought. In July and August
1931, the Cardener River started to dry up, and the salt concentrations spiked. That year the flow stations
aguas minerales embotelladas, se recurrira al agua de los pozos. Y esto s que constituira un grave peligro para la
salud, pues no controlados ni vigilados estos pozos, la mayora de ellos contienen agua que no rene las
condiciones higinicas necesarias para su consumo. Interview with Dr. Pedro Gonzlez, Director of Barcelona
Municipal Laboratory. La Vanguardia 1935. Voz de Alarma. 23 March 1935.
45
La Vanguardia 1935. La Salinidad de las Aguas del Llobregat. 23 March 1935. p 6.
46
Letter from Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona to CESALL. 17 August 1931. AGBAR Archives. Box 5615.
No. 12.
Perdone, Don Enrique, que le moleste tanto; pero el asunto me intranquiliza cada vez ms porque en estos tiempos
de querellas y explosiones populares, no s lo que pasar si un da trs servir a Barcelona agua salda, obligamos a
sus habitantes a soportar una carga financiera enorme para poder sustituir al cabo de unos aos el agua que hoy, sin
ningn gasto pblico, mana normalmente de sus grifos.
42.
in Cardona and Martorell recorded average discharges that were half of normal.47 In response to the rising
chloride values, the Public Health Commission asked the Catalan Parliament to intervene immediately
and require the mines to reduce their discharges into the river so that the Llobregat River would not
When the CESALL commission reconvened from summer break on September 1st 1931, the
Director of the Municipal Laboratory, Pedro Gonzlez insisted that the CESALL commission write the
Provincial Governor of Barcelona requesting that regulations be established immediately, without waiting
for the final conclusions of the CESALL investigation. The commission agreed, and within two weeks the
Governor dictated an order that chloride concentrations could not surpass 250 mg/L on the Llobregat
River at the confluence with the Cardener.49 This provisional decree would buy time for the CESALL
commission to study the issue in greater detail. The public health commission would monitor compliance
and the laboratory expenses would be paid by the plaintiff parties if the measurements were below the
limit, whereas expenses would be paid by the mining companies if a violation was found. The penalty
imposed on the mining companies for the first violation would be the closure of mining operations for one
day. A second violation would require closure for a week, and a third violation would be punished by
indefinite closure.50
The CESALL Commission released its final report in the spring of 1932. The lengthy document
was complete with tables, figures and elegant maps of the watershed. The commission concluded that
four measures were necessary to bring the salinity problem under control. First, the commission proposed
47
Plan General de Obras 1936. Delegacin de los Servicios Hidrulicos del Pirineo Oriental. Pla general dobres
per lany 1936. Annex a linforme. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya. Fons 547. Agencia Catalana de lAigua. Unit 42.
48
CESALL Report. 1932. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (ANC) Fons 547. Agncia Catalana de l'Aigua. Unitat 479.
49
The letter from Provincial Governor of Barcelona was published in Appendix 2 of the CESALL Report. It should
be mentioned that the Chair of the CESALL Commission, and Director of the Water Resource Agency for the
Eastern Pyrenees, Enrique Gonzlez Granda y Silva abruptly resigned soon after this regulation was imposed on the
mining companies in September 1931. He was substituted on the CESALL commission by a representative from the
Mining District of Barcelona, Enrique Bayo Timmerhant, who chaired the remainder of investigation. A cynical
interpretation might see a connection between the unexpected water quality regulation, the immediate resignation of
the CESALL chair, and his replacement by someone from the Mining District of Barcelona, although no evidence
has been found to verify any connection.
50
CESALL Report.1932. Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (ANC) Fons 547. Agncia Catalana de l'Aigua. Unitat 479.
43.
legislation that would limit chloride concentrations at 250 mg/L in the town of Pallej. This figure was
based on regulations inscribed in German law that oversaw the potash industry along the Rhine River.
However this apparent victory for Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona, was in reality, a good deal for
the mining companies. Mining interests succeeded in ensuring that chloride concentrations were not
regulated at the point of discharge, nor even at the confluence of the two major rivers, as originally
established in the provisional Governors decree from 1931. Instead, the Commission pushed the
sampling site down river, nearly to the base of the watershed, where the dilution potential was greatest.
The sampling site of Pallej was justified because geologists estimated that the river recharged the aquifer
44.
Figure 2.7 Map of the critical areas of the salinity conflict in the Llobregat watershed, published in the
weekly periodical El Mirador on June 27th 1935 in an expos article The problem of the salinity of the
waters of Barcelona. The hatched squares show the location of the potassium mines along the Llobregat
and Cardener Rivers in 1935: Unin Espaola de Explosivos, Minas de Potasa de Sria, Potsas
Ibricas, La Fondina y la Minera. The filtration zone where the Llobregat River feeds into the aquifer is
marked between the towns of Martorell and San Adrs de la Barca as Zona Filtrante. Finally, the
transparent square shows the location of the groundwater pumping wells owned by Sociedad General
Aguas de Barcelona in the town of Cornell, south-west of Barcelona.
Second, the CESALL commission recommended that water quality be monitored periodically
along the rivers. This was probably the most significant and tangible victory for those seeking to keep the
45.
aquifer salt free. Constant vigilance would be needed to enforce the new regulations. The monitoring
methods proposed were advanced for the era and included modern automatic measurement devices.
Third, the Commission advocated for the construction of a brine collector that would transport the
industrial effluent from the mines and pipe it to the Mediterranean. This proposal had the added
advantage that the new canal might also transport municipal and industrial wastewater, and thereby
Finally, the CESALL commission proposed the construction of dams along the Cardener and
Llobregat Rivers. These structures could help regulate river flows and dilute salt concentrations during
the dry season. Farmers could also benefit from the dams, and the CESALL commission was quick to
The conclusions of the CESALL report fit the long term interests of both the mining and water
companies. Following the release of the CESALL report in April 1932, Sociedad General Aguas de
Barcelona became a firm advocate for the construction of the brine collector and the dam. Especially with
the dame proposal, the interests of the mining company overlapped with those of the water company.
Storing water in the mountains would provide a generous source of drinking water for the metropolitan
region, and releasing it during the dry season would dilute the contaminants and increase the volume of
water entering the groundwater wells managed by Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona.
The CESALL commission was a laudable exercise in river basin planning and should be credited
with searching for constructive solutions to the conflict. The Spanish government sought to find
compatible uses among competing water users. With scientific detachment and quantitative precision, the
commission searched for practical ways to satisfy competing needs. What the CESALL did not foresee
however, was the delays that would prevent the brine collector from being built for several decades. To
the contrary, the CESALL commission was confident that the brine collector and dams would be built
soon. But the projects stalled, and during the remainder of 1932, and through 1934, the salinity
controversy largely disappeared from archival records and press reports. One major exception was the
46.
passage of the Salinity Law by the Catalan Generalitat published in August 1933. The law closely
followed the CESALL recommendations, essentially codifying their regulatory recommendations into
law.51 The regulation stated that the chloride concentrations could not surpass 250 mg/L along the
Following the release of the CESALL report, the commission was renamed the Commission for
the Inspection of the Salinity of the Waters of the Llobregat (CISALL). As the new name implies, the
CISALL focused on monitoring water quality. With funding from the mining companies, the CISALL
established five sampling points, each below a mining operation on the Cardener or Llobregat Rivers: one
in Malagarriga, below the mines in Cardona; another in Antius, below Minas de Potasa de Sria; a third
in Torreroca, below the mines in Balsareny; a fourth at Soler Vicen below Potasas Ibricas; and the fifth
at the critical point of Pallej, the only site in which the data would have any legal implications.52
There is evidence that the Salinity Law and the regular inspections helped reduce the salinity
concentrations entering the freshwater aquifer downstream. In 1934 the water company reported that the
chloride concentrations fell from 202 mg/L to 169 mg/L, and they attributed this reduction to the Salinity
With the regulatory framework in place, attention shifted to the brine collector project which was
supposed to provide the definitive solution to the water pollution problem. However the project lost
momentum between the release of the CESALL report in 1932 and March 1935 when the issue finally
resurfaced. The exact reason for this delay is unclear. Leftist political parties governed during most of this
51
Butllet Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya. 1933. Llei de Salinitat. August 12, II, p. 229.
52
It appears that the Malagarriga station was not built until after the Civil War (Personal Comment, Santi Gorostiza,
October 2011)
53
Meeting Minutees CISALL, 25 April 1936 "La Sociedad que represento ve anulndose, poco a poco, los efectos
beneficiosos que en la disminucin de los cloruros contenidos en sus aguas se obtuvo con la inspeccin de los ros
Cardoner y Llobregat. Cuando empez dicha inspeccin, nuestras aguas de Cornell, contenan unos 202
miligramos por litro de in cloro; durante el primer ao y medio de inspeccin, disminuyeron hasta contener 169
miligramos por litro en Enero de 1935, pero desde dicha fecha, empez un ininterrumpido aumento (con tendencia
todava al alza, segn los ltimos anlisis), que ha hecho que la cloruracin se cifrara como promedio en el mes de
Marzo ltimo, en 187 miligramos por litro".
47.
period, both in Catalonia and Madrid, and one might expect Lefist parties to be more willing to take on a
polluting industry. Of course, this was a turbulent era, and many issues competed for the attention of civic
leaders. In the early 1930s north-eastern Spain was at the center of political turmoil and unrest. The
industrial areas of Catalonia were a hub of anarchist activity and occasional violent outbreaks.54 In
January of 1932, during a massive General Strike that spread throughout the Llobregat and Cardener
valleys, anarchists revolted in the mining towns and took control of the municipal government in Sria.
The anarchist flag flew over the city hall of Sria until the Spanish Civil Guards reclaimed control of the
town and expelled the rebels to African colonies.55 Following the revolt, the mining company saw the
need for more police protection and donated funds to the Spanish Civil Guard so they could establish a
permanent station near Manresa. Each mining enterprise in the region, Minas de Potasa de Sria, Unin
Espaola de Explosivos and Potasas Ibricas donated 12,500 Spanish pesetas to help build the police
quarters.56
The political turbulence certainly contributed to the limited attention directed at the salinity
problems in the Llobregat and Cardener Rivers, especially in 1934 when the issue nearly disappeared
from public view.57 However the water conflict resurfaced again in 1935, with considerable uproar, and
more attention from the press in Barcelona. In March 1935, the Director of Barcelonas Municipal
Laboratory, Dr. Pedro Gonzalez, released a report where he found that chloride values of Barcelonas
54
Brenan, G. 1943. The Spanish Labyrinth (12th Edition ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
55
Fbrega Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis: La Sal i la Potassa a Sria 1185-1982. Ajuntament de Sria &
Iberpotash.
56
Arxiu Comarcal del Bages, Manresa.
57
I found surprisingly few documents that referred to the salinity conflict in 1934. In that year records show that the
water company Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona opposed a request from Sociedad Potasas Ibricas to obtain
water concessions from the Llobregat River. On 19 August 1934 the La Vanguardia newspaper published a
photograph of Catalan President of the Generalitat, Lluis Companys, and the Catalan Comissioner of Public Health,
Josep Dencs, in an official visit to the mines operated by Sociedad Potasas Ibricas in Sallent. As mentioned,
there is evidence that effective water quality monitoring in 1934 helped reduce salinity values in the river and
aquifer. However in a letter dated 8 March 1935 from the water company executive Jos Soler Nolla to the
Governor of Catalonia, he asserts that the water quality monitoring is only helping to document the rate at which
chlorine is increasing in our rivers. He added that in January 1935 chlorine levels surpassed the permissible limit
and reached 272 mg/L in Pallej. The letter from Jos Soler Nolla can be found in Sallent Municipal Archives. Box
2525.
48.
drinking water had risen to 176 mg/L, meaning that concentrations had more than doubled in the last ten
years. 58 Dr. Gonzalez reiterated the recommendations from the CESALL report and was convinced that
The renewed attention directed at the salinity problems of the Llobregat River coincided with the
drought in the summer of 1935, in which reduced base flows increased mineral concentrations. 59 By
1935, records show that the mining companies were failing to comply with the Salinity Law of 1933.
Chloride concentrations at Pallej surpassed the limit of 250 mg/L and would often reach 300 mg/L.60
The deteriorating conditions of the Llobregat River also began to mobilize river users. In April 1935
fishers, writers and artists gathered in Manresa to protest the salinization of the Llobregat River. Fishers
from throughout Catalonia came to Manresa with their fishing poles in an event that the organizers called
Monster Meeting.61 Leaders from the anarcho-syndicalist movement spoke at the event and called for
Unfortunately, little is known about the grassroots activism that protested the salinization of the
Cardener and Llobregats waters.63 But we do know that the conditions of the river had deteriorated
severely. Downstream users lamented that the river had become a sewer for industry. A resident of El
Prat del Llobregat lamented in 1935 that poets can no longer sing of their clear waters.64 Instead, the
58
La Vanguardia 1935. Dictamen del Director del Laboratorio Qumico Microbiolgico Municipal. 22 March 1935.
p 9.
59
Aldom, I. 2007. La lluita per l'aigua a Catalunya. De l'us, abs a la gesti integral (1900-2007). Lleida: Pags
Editors.
60
Letter from Jos Soller Nolla, Director of Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona to the Mayor of Barcelona. 8
March 1935. Sallent Municipal Archive. Box 2525.
61
Miting Monstre Poster at Sallent Municipal Archive. Box 2525.
62
El Be Negre: Setmanari Satiric, 1935. La Revoluci de lAigua a Manresa. Num 200. 24 April 1935 p 2.
63
It appears that the President of the Federation of Fishers, Juan (Joan) Sebarroja was a strong defender of the
Llobregat River, and may have been a key grassroots organizer among the fisher community. His name appeared on
the poster that called for the protests in Manresa in April 1935. He also gave a lecture titled, The impurification of
the waters in Catalonias Rivers: Affair Llobregat in February 1935. (See La Vanguardia 21 February 1935 pag
13). In his lecture, he criticizes the poisoning of the river, and in particular, the extraordinary rise in salinity.
He expressed surprise that the authorities were not taking action to protect Barcelonas drinking water. To
demonstrate the economic contribution of the Llobregat River, he estimated that annually, fishers extracted fish from
the Llobregat worth 2 million Spanish Pesetas. In contrast, today, not a single edible fish is extracted.
64
Pujol, J. 1935. Agrcoles: Insistint. Noticiero Pratenc. 25 May 1935. Pg. 2.
49.
Llobregat had become turbid dirty, oily, milky, and even rotting during low flows.65 On the eve of
the 1929 World Exhibition in Barcelona, one newspaper worried that visitors might wander down to the
Llobregat River and find a pestilent valley that was an assault on the public health.66
The protesting fishers in Manresa had seen first-hand how river pollution was wiping away
aquatic life. While many fish kills probably went unreported, one made headlines in October of 1933.67
The floating dead fish covered the surface of the river, and the volume was so overwhelming that several
company towns were forced to halt production to pull out the dead fish from the turbines. In all, an
estimated 50 to 80 tons of dead fish floated down the river during the episode.68 While the first news
report published in Madrid initially attributed the fish kill to the potassium mines, another report
published in Barcelona later attributed it to storm water runoff from calcium mines.69
In 1935 it was clear that the mining activity had not reached its full potential and that the salinity
concentrations would continue to rise and threaten Barcelonas primary source of fresh water. 70 In the
spring of 1935 Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona distributed water to one and a quarter million
residents. The water company wrote the Catalan Minister of Health and reminded the Catalan
Government of their undeniable mission: to uphold the law approved by the Catalan Parliament on 11
August 1933 that prohibits that the salinity of the Llobregat river at Pallej exceeds 250 mg/L. If the
problem were to remain unattended the outcome would be disturbing and tragic.71
The renewed pressure pushed the Spanish Government into action once again. In April 1935 the
Spanish Minister of Public Works, Rafael Guerra del Ro, called for a meeting in Madrid with top
65
Ibid.
66
LAven 1928, 12 February.
67
Heraldo de Madrid. 24 October 1933. Las aguas del Llobregat contaminadas. Al verter en ellas residuos de las
minas potsicas se ha producido un exceso de salinidad que determino la muerte enorme cantidad de peces. Pag 10.
68
Ibid.
69
La Vanguardia 1933. Por qu murieron los peces del Llobregat. El hidrato de cal. No hay peligro para los
habitantes de Barcelona. 2 November 1933. Pag 7.
70
La Vanguardia 1935. La Salinidad de las agaus del Llobregat. 20 March 1935 p. 5; La Vanguardia 1935.
Dictamen del Director del Laboratorio Qumico Microbiolgico Municipal. 22 March 1935 p 9; La Vanguardia
1935. La salinidad de las aguas del Llobregat. 23 March 1935 p 6.
71
AGBAR Archives. Box 5615 no. 36. Nota de la S.G.A.B. al Consejero Sanidad.
50.
executives from the water and mining companies72. They were accompanied by the members of the
CISALL Commission and the leadership of the Water Resource Agency of the Eastern Pyrenees. The
meeting marked a turning point for the salinity conflict because all the stakeholders finally agreed to act
upon the recommendations laid out by the CESALL Commission in 1932 including the building of the
brine collector. The CISALL commissioners estimated that the project would cost between 10 and 12
million Spanish Pesetas. Meeting minutes show that the CISALL Commission proposed that the expenses
be divided among the mining companies, the water company and the Ministry for Public Works.73 Jos
Soler Nolla from Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona demonstrated his enthusiasm for the Ministers
proposal by offering to finance the project with private capital in order to accelerate construction. By the
end of the meeting, everyone agreed that the next step was to transform their ideas into budgets and
blueprints. Those in attendance regained confidence that the brine collector would be built; it was just a
The Public Minister for Public Works, Guerra del Ro framed the brine collector project within
the context of creating jobs for the working class. The Minister bragged in a press conference that he
hurled an ultimatum at the mining companies. Either they collaborated in the construction of a disposal
system for their industrial waste, or the Spanish Government would suspend the mining concessions and
bring all mining activity to a halt.74 This strong language was unprecedented and perhaps never repeated.
The timing of events suggests that key leaders within the Radical Party may be credited for
putting the brine collector project back on the agenda. Debate surrounding the salinity conflict hit the
press in Barcelona on a regular basis starting in March 1935, and remained a hot topic through the
72
Veu de Catalunya 1935. La Salinitat de les Aigues de Barcelona. 27 April 1935; Correo Catalan 1935. El
Ministerio de Obras Publicas da una detallada referencia del mismo, ampliada en sus aspectos tecnico por el
ingeniero D. Lorenzo Pardo. 27 April 1935. Num. 19229 p 31; Diario de Barcelona 1935. Delegacin de los
Servicios Hidraulicos del Pirineo Oriental. 28 April 1935. p 5; La Vanguardia 1935. Las Aguas del Llobregat. 5
May 1935 p 8;
73
Fbrega i Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis. La Sal i la Potassa a Sria, 1185-1982. Iberpotash i Ajuntament
de Sria, pg 428.
74
Veu de Catalunya. 1935. La Salinitat de les Aigues de Barcelona. Manifestaciones del seor Guerra del Ro.
Saturday 27 April 1935.
51.
summer. This coincided with the Lerroux Government in Madrid, but also with the appointment or
election of Radical Party members in critical posts: Jaime Polo Otin at the Water Resources Agency of
the Eastern Pyrenees, Rafael Guerra del Ro in the Ministry of Public Works were both members of the
Radical Party, as was the Mayor of Barcelona, Joan Pich i Pon. The political alignment in Barcelona,
Catalonia and Madrid, may have contributed to the tangible steps toward the execution of the brine
Another interpretation might trace the renewed attention to the letters written by Sociedad
General Aguas de Barcelona on March 8th 1935 to the Governor of Catalonia, the Mayor of Barcelona,
and later on March 26th 1935 to the Spanish Parliament. These letters were signed by a coalition of
associations such as the Medical Academy of Barcelona, the Regional Federation of Fishers, and
agricultural unions.76 However the Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona had been pursuing this
project for years, so it is unclear what pushed the government into action in the spring of 1935, if not
After the Ministerial meeting in Madrid the salinity conflict continued to attract attention in the
press, and the executives at Minas de Potasa de Sria followed these developments closely.
Correspondence between the mine director, Norbert Fonthier and his supervisors in Brussels has left us
with insiders view of their deliberations. The mines monitored the Spanish press with special attention to
controversy or political resistance to their operations. News of the mines in the popular press was
immediately reported back to the headquarters in Belgium. In July of 1935 the Barcelona newspaper La
Publicitat released two political cartoons mocking the poor conditions of the Llobregat River and the
threat it posed to the citys water supply (Fig 2.8 and Fig 2.9). Fonthier despised improvisation, and
75
I searched correspondence from the office of the Mayor in Barcelona, Joan Pich i Pon, at the Municipal Archives
of Barcelona (Arxiu Municipal Contempornea de Barcelona) during 1935 but did not uncover anything related to
the salinity conflict. This, despite the reports in La Vanguardia that the Mayor had met with the Director of the
Municipal Laboratory Pedro Gonzalez in March 1935 to address the risk of salinization of Barcelonas water supply.
76
La Vanguardia 1935. A los seores Diputados Catalanes jefes de minoria en el Parlamento Espaol. 7 April 1935.
p 23.
52.
sought to be one step ahead of his rivals. When the Ministry for Economic Development sent a
government inspector without notice, Fonthier wrote to his supervisors baffled that such an inspection
Catalonia that the mining companies were continuing to dump their waste into the river and the
concentrations were violating maximum levels established in the Salinity Law of 1933. The water
company reported eight violations in December 1935 and six in January 1936. The mining companies
paid the associated fines but were otherwise unaffected.77 Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona
requested that the government revoke their authorization of mining activity until the brine collector and
dam projects were completed. The water company submitted their letter to the Governor of Catalonia on
February 15th, 1936, the day before national elections in Spain. These would be the last elections of the
Second Spanish Republic. They handed a victory to the Popular Front, a coalition of Leftist parties.
However the victory would be short lived, as the Spanish military began to plot a revolt.
77
AGBAR Archives. Box 5615. Escrito al Gobernador General de Catalua Solicitando Pronta Construccion Canal
Colector. 15 Febrero 1936.
53.
Figure 2.8 The cartoon titled The waters of the Llobregat was published on the front page of the
Barcelona newspaper La Publicitat on July 9th 1935. The artist mocked the deteriorating water quality in
Barcelona by exclaiming: A Barcelona resident in 1938 Give me a soda, with potassium.
54.
Figure 2.9 A front page cartoon titled The waters of the Llobregat published in La Publicitat on July 12th
1935.
What does the Institute say about the salinity of our waters?
The Agrarian Institute is not dedicated to the humanities, and therefore we do not think anything,
because we do not need to think.
The military General Francisco Franco fired the first shot of the Spanish Civil War on July 17th,
1936. The immediate objective of the coup dtat was to remove the Leftist parties from government
even though they had fairly won the election just months earlier. From the perspective of the Spanish
Right, only a military insurrection could restore order and unity to a disintegrating Spanish society.
According to this view, Spain was dangerously close to socialist revolution, and the democratic
experiment had gone too far in redistributing land and permitting anti-clerical violence.78 For the extreme
Left, the violent clash initiated by the military heralded the beginning of the Socialist Revolution. The
78
Brenan, G. 1943. The Spanish Labyrinth (12th Edition ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
55.
moderate Republicans governing in Madrid were caught in the cross fire between radically divergent
ideologies from the Left and Right. With the political space for moderates shrinking, the Republicans
struggled to govern. And as Francos military troops advanced from southern Spain, the Republicans
most immediate priority was to salvage the democratic institutions of the Second Spanish Republic.
When the news of the military uprising reached the workers in Barcelona, revolutionaries of
every color sprung to arms. Anarcho-syndicalists, Marxists, Communists, Leninists, Trotskyists, and
Stalin loyalists took fighting positions behind barricades in the streets of Barcelona. George Orwell
described a celebratory mood in Barcelona as the war began in his book Homage to Catalonia. Soon the
revolutionaries began to exert considerable influence within the Catalan Generalitat, and the city was
decorated with canvas paintings of Marx, Lenin and Stalin that covered the faades of large buildings in
central squares. Businesses were collectivized by the workers, and Minas de Potasa de Sria and
Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona were no exception. Norbert Fonthier was taken prisoner for
several days, and when released, he escaped with his family on a boat to Marseille, France along with
other blue-blooded Spaniards and foreigners.79 Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona was collectivized
Amid the revolution, the discussions about the brine collector continued. Comrade Carrerras,
Comrade Subirana and Comrade Capell replaced Fonthier as representatives of the mines in Sria, and
Comrades Tarafa, Batllori and Soucheiron replaced Soler Nolla at the water company. They gathered on
June 19th 1937 with the Catalan Generalitat to reaffirm their commitment to the waste disposal project.
The engineering plans for the collector had recently been completed on October 10th, 1936, a few months
into the Spanish Civil War. The project included drawings of the collector, measurements and route
demarcations which showed the path that the collector would travel between the mines and the
79
Fbrega Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis: La Sal i la Potassa a Sria 1185-1982. Ajuntament de Sria &
Iberpotash.
56.
Mediterranean.80 Depending on the geologic or topographic conditions, the engineers envisioned that the
collector would change its sectional profile. With the designs completed, the next step was to secure
The communication between the mining companies and government officials in 1936 and 1937
show few hints of war. By February 1937 the Commission for the Inspection of the Salinity of the Waters
of the Llobregat (CISALL) had reached an agreement with each of the mining companies, old and new,
regarding their contribution to the collector project. Even late in the war, correspondence showed the
The brine collector came very close to being built during the Spanish Republic. All that was
needed was more time. But Francos troops were faster. They marched towards Barcelona with the
military support from other Fascist governments in Europe. The democratic powers of the West remained
neutral in the conflict, and the defenders of the Spanish Republic were smothered.
Barcelona fell to Francos troops in late January 1939, and the executives of the water and mining
companies returned to their posts while many members of the revolutionary government fled abroad,
mostly to France and Mexico. The Franco regime was quick to nullify any reforms associated with the
revolutionary governments that had briefly taken over during the war. The dictatorship issued a
resolution directed at the potassium industry whereby it declared all exports by the workers collectives to
have been illegal.81 However the collectivized mines were unable to maintain potassium production at
pre-war levels. Mining activity dropped precipitously between 1936 and 1939, and so did concentrations
80
I thank Santi Gorostiza for sharing images of this project with me that he obtained from the Archivo General de la
Administracin in Madrid.
81
BOE 1939. 17 March 1939. Nm 77. Pg. 1561
57.
of chloride in the Llobregat aquifer, from 183 mg/L to 110 mg/L.82 This correlation provided further
evidence linking the mining activity with water quality in the aquifer.83 In the eyes of many, including
Jos Soller Nolla, this was irrefutable proof that the rise in chloride concentrations observed in the aquifer
The brine collector project underwent a series of redesigns during the early Franco period. The
first project revision was published immediately, in 1939 The year of Victory as declared on the
projects cover.84 This design was approved by a Ministerial Order on August 28th, 1940, but the
complexity of the enterprise caused additional revisions that delayed it further.85 The project was
reformulated in 1943, and then again in 1953. Opposition to the project may have also contributed to its
delay. Agricultural interests at the base of the watershed were concerned that the brine collector would
consume water and subtract from the total volume coming downstream.86
Throughout the 1940s, chloride effluents from the mines continued to build up in the aquifer. As
mining activity accelerated, chloride concentrations in the aquifer started to climb and never looked back.
In 1945 they reached 190 mg/L surpassing pre-Civil War levels, and in October of 1949 they were nearly
300 mg/L. 87 Communications from the water company to government officials showed increasing signs
of frustration on the part of Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. After more than a decade of pleading,
82
AGBAR Laboratory Archive. Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. Escrito dirigido por esta Sociedad, en
Diciembre de 1949 al Excmo Sr. Alcalde de la Ciudad Relativo al Servicio de Abastacimiento de Agua, Actual y
Futuro y el Problema de la Salinidad de la Misma y Anejos al Escrito.
83
Gorostiza, S. 2010. El conflicto salino en el suministro de agua a Barcelona (1925 1940). Encuentro Cientfico
Salud y ciudades en Espaa, 1880-1940. Condiciones ambientales, niveles de vida e intervenciones sanitarias. 8 y 9
de julio de 2010, Barcelona.
84
Here I rely on documentation from the Archivo General de la Administracin that was generously shared with me
by Santiago Gorostiza.
85
A letter from AGBAR on 1 December 1949 to the Mayor of Barcelona cites that this project was approved in an
Ministerial Order on 27 July 1940, and that it was communicated on 5 August 1940. On 25 September 1940 the
project was made public, and on 16 March 1941 the Junta de Usuarios y Beneficiarios del Canal Colector was
created by the Ministerial Order of 14 April 1942.
86
Gorostiza, S. 2010. El conflicto salino en el suministro de agua a Barcelona (1925 1940). Encuentro Cientfico
Salud y ciudades en Espaa, 1880-1940. Condiciones ambientales, niveles de vida e intervenciones sanitarias. 8 y 9
de julio de 2010, Barcelona.
87
AGBAR Laboratory Archive. Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. Escrito dirigido por esta Sociedad, en
Diciembre de 1949 al Excmo Sr. Alcalde de la Ciudad Relativo al Servicio de Abastacimiento de Agua, Actual y
Futuro y el Problema de la Salinidad de la Misma y Anejos al Escrito.
58.
the Chair of the Board of Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona warned the Mayor of Barcelona, if one
day our company provides the city of Barcelona with salt water, it will not be our fault nor due to our
negligence because we have done everything humanly possible to avoid this outcome since the
beginning.88
Fortunately for the mining companies, the pressure to build the collector was relieved somewhat
with the construction of the Sant Pon dam, built between 1949 and 1956. The dam regulated discharges
in the summer, and diluted salinity concentrations during months of low flow.
By 1950 Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona supplied water for nearly 2 million residents.89
Water shortages in the summer of 1949 had caused water restrictions, and raised concerns about long
term water availability.90 Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona began to explore additional water
sources and all options were on the table. In 1949 the water company asked the Mayor of Barcelona to
approach the Spanish Government with a proposal that would bring additional water resources to the city
from the neighboring Ter River.91 While this proposal was being considered, Sociedad General Aguas de
Barcelona needed to increase existing supplies in the short term in order to meet demand. Their solution
was to build a new water treatment plant that would withdraw surface water directly from the Llobregat
River at the base of the watershed in Sant Joan Desp. The new water treatment plant was inaugurated in
1955, and its opening marked a significant turning point for Barcelonas water supply. Until then,
Barcelona had relied exclusively on groundwater. The last time Barcelona residents drank directly from
surface water sources was during the Roman era, approximately 2000 years prior. The decision to collect
88
que si un da el agua de Barcelona llegase a beberse salada no sera ni por su culpa ni por negligencia de la
Sociedad, que haba hecho desde el nacimiento del problema cuanto humanamente caba hacer para impedirlo.
AGBAR Laboratory Archive. Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. Escrito dirigido por esta Sociedad, en
Diciembre de 1949 al Excmo Sr. Alcalde de la Ciudad Relativo al Servicio de Abastacimiento de Agua, Actual y
Futuro y el Problema de la Salinidad de la Misma y Anejos al Escrito.
89
AGBAR Laboratory Archive. Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. Escrito dirigido por esta Sociedad, en
Diciembre de 1949 al Excmo Sr. Alcalde de la Ciudad Relativo al Servicio de Abastacimiento de Agua, Actual y
Futuro y el Problema de la Salinidad de la Misma y Anejos al Escrito.
90
Ibid.
91
Ibid.
59.
the murky stream flow at the base of the watershed may be surprising, especially when one considers that
large cities usually seek out pure sources higher in the mountains. However selecting to locate the water
treatment plant at the base of the watershed was an unequivocal vote of confidence in favor of the new
water treatment technologies. Treatment engineers at Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona were
absolutely certain that they could clarify and disinfect the water themselves, in the same way that is done
in the other large cities of the world, Paris, London, Amsterdam, etc92
A few practical considerations also help explain this decision. The planned site in Sant Joan
Desp was close to the groundwater pumping station in Cornell, making it convenient for personnel
working at the water company. Withdrawing surface water would also allow them to take advantage of
dam releases upstream.93 If the company only relied on groundwater sources, they would not be able to
capture dam releases very effectively. However the primary explanation for the unusual downstream
location of the water treatment facility probably had to do pre-existing water rights. By the 1950s most
water concessions had already been distributed to industrial and agricultural users upstream, and these
users aggressively defended their rights. This left the city of Barcelona to collect its drinking water from
the base of the watershed, even though its quality was questionable. Thus the strategic decision to build
the water treatment plant at the base of the watershed was a combination of technological hubris and
The decision to build the water treatment plant at the base of the watershed set in motion
additional measures to defend the water quality flowing down the Llobregat River, and this water quality
protection strategy relied heavily on engineered approaches. In the 1960s two major tributaries, the Anoia
92
AGBAR Laboratory Archive. Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona. Escrito dirigido por esta Sociedad, en
Diciembre de 1949 al Excmo Sr. Alcalde de la Ciudad Relativo al Servicio de Abastacimiento de Agua, Actual y
Futuro y el Problema de la Salinidad de la Misma y Anejos al Escrito.
93
By this point the aquifer was noticing the impact of sea water intrusion. While the potassium mines had alleged
sea water intrusion as a source of salinity in the aquifer in the 1930s, an exhaustive revision by the CESALL
Commission discarded this possibility. A new source of surface water would allow the water company to reduce the
amount of groundwater pumping. This reduction in groundwater materialized and let led the chlorine concentrations
to drop slightly. See (Ferret 1985).
60.
and Rub, were diverted into pipes and channels that ran parallel to the Llobregat River until their
contents were released back into the main stem of the Llobregat River a few meters below the treatment
plant. This structural solution prevented both tributaries from releasing contaminats into the Llobregat
River. It also allowed nearby industries to dump waste into the tributaries without contaminating
Barcelonas drinking water supply. But this structural design had major limitations. The fabricated
channels could not contain the large volumes of water that flowed during storm events, so every time it
rained, polluted water inevitably overflowed into the Llobregat River and travelled towards the water
treatment facility. A river monitoring team called the River Police was dispatched by the water company
to visually monitor water quality on a regular basis. When they saw that the river carried an oil spill,
foam, or some other unusual contaminant, the River Police would radio downstream to warn managers of
the oncoming pollution and instruct them to shut down treatment. Storm events frequently caused water
treatment to shut down, as did the presence of detergents or heavy metals such as nickel, zinc, chrome or
copper from entering the facility. The halting of water treatment because of pollution problems was
Given these water quality problems, it is not surprising that city managers eventually turned away
from the Llobregat to search for alternative and cleaner sources of freshwater. By 1964, the chloride
concentrations in the Llobregat reached 2,411 mg/L in Pallej, surpassing the maximum permissible
levels established in the Salinity Law of 1933 by a factor of ten.95 And in 1967 Barcelona began to draw
water from neighboring Ter watershed to the East. The new supply diminished the Llobregats relative
contribution to the citys total water portfolio. This further helped reduce pressure on the Spanish
Government and the mines to follow through on their commitment to build the brine collector.
94
Personal comment, Roger Lloret, August 2010.
95
Lloret, R. 2004. La qualitat de laigua del riu Llobregat. Un factor limitant del passat, un element clau per al
futur. In Prat, N and Tello, E. El Baix Llobregat: histria i actualitat ambiental dun riu. Centre destudis Comarcals
del Baix Llobregat. p. 92-141.
61.
In the 1970s, chemists discovered that the mining effluent also caused a public health problem. In
addition to emitting salts, the mines also released bromine, which when combined with organic matter
and chlorine, reacts to form a group of harmful disinfection byproducts called trihalomethanes. These
carcinogenic compounds would eventually be regulated by the European Union and Spanish drinking
water legislation, and their removal ultimately motivated the installation of the desalination systems.
Stopping the salty effluent from flowing into the Cardener and Llobregat Rivers became a
political priority of the Catalan government once they gained regional autonomy from Madrid in the early
1980s. In 1982 the Catalan Generalitat approved the brine collector project, and in September 1988 the
collector project was finally completed, and began to divert salty effluent from the mines into a pipe that
transported the waste directly to base of the watershed.96 Water managers observed an immediate
reduction in chlorine concentrations in the river.97 And in a strange reversal of roles, the water company
Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona became responsible for maintaining the brine collector. Even
though the water company manages the infrastructure, the collector still breaks frequently and releases
salt concentrate into the river. As recently as January 14th 2009, chloride concentrations in the river
reached 837 mg/L due to a break in the pipes, and water treatment managers in Sant Joan Desp were
forced to halt water treatment because of high salinity values. The growth of the mine tailings, now huge
mountains of salt, has also generated public discontent. Two mine tailings continue to grow in size. In the
96
The brine collector first dumped the brine back into the Llobregat River, but beyond the water treatment facility in
Sant Joan Desp. Not until a few years later, did they complete the final segment that took the brine to the
Mediterranean. The period in which highly concentrated brine ran through the final segment of the Llobregat,
between the water treatment facility and the Mediterranean, may have also contributed to salt infiltration into the
aquifer (Personal Comment, Roger Lloret, 2011).
Also see: http://www.lasequia.org/montsalat/Impactes/Salinitzacio.htm
97
Estevan, A. and N. Prat. 2006. Alternativas para la gestin del agua en Catalua: Una visin desde la perspectiva
de la nueva cultura del agua. Fundacin Nueva Cultura del Agua. Zaragoza and Bakeaz: Bilbao, Spain.
62.
town of Sallent, residents have organized opposition to the continued growth of the salt mountains and the
At its core, the salinity conflict in the Llobregat watershed was a struggle to control the rivers
services. For the owners of industry, the Cardener and Llobregat rivers generated valuable electricity that
allowed them to run their textile machines. For farmers the rivers waters increased crop production. The
water company relied on the Llobregat to replenish the aquifer and maintain a steady supply of drinking
water for its customers. And finally, for the mining companies, the rivers provided a free disposal system
that carried away their waste to the Mediterranean. These ecosystem services: food and water production,
energy generation, and waste disposal, came into conflict, and each user maneuvered to protect the
The salinity conflict in the Llobregat watershed is a critical piece of history that helps explain
why Barcelona now relies on two desalination facilities to meet its drinking water needs. The solutions
put forward to address this conflict demonstrated confidence in engineered methods to meet their water
challenges, predominantly in the form of dams and pipes. This view dominated the management of water
resources in Spain for much of the twentieth century. However we find an exception to this vision in the
writings of Rafael Puig Valls and his proposal for addressing flooding problems with reforestation and
ecosystem restoration. His proposal to manage ecosystems stood in opposition to the mainstream
services.
98
See www.prousal.org
63.
Figure 2.10 It is estimated that this photograph was taken between 1932-1936. It shows the small dam
along the Cardener River that diverted water for the Antius factory owned by Antonia Burs Borrs and
Esteve Torrens Burs. Antius is the first textile factory below the potash mines, located less than a mile
upstream. The small structure in the lower left corner no longer exists. However it is possible, although
not confirmed, that this structure housed the automatic water quality instruments established by the
CISALL to monitor salinity values in the Cardener. (Photograph courtesy of Albert Fbregas)
64.
Figure 2.11 In the 1960s employees of Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona regularly travelled
upstream to check on the instruments that measured river water quality. The names of the sampling sites
established by the CISALL commission remain the same, even if the exact locations have changed
slightly. This picture taken in the 1960s shows a visit by AGBAR employees to the water quality
measurement station located on the Antius canal next to the Cardener River. The original automatic
station, possibly depicted in Fig 2.10, might have been washed away by a flood, and then moved to its
current location midway along the canal. (Photograph courtesy of Roger Lloret)
Figure 2.12 The Antius water quality station in April 2011. The Catalan Water Agency still uses the
instruments in this structure to collect water quality measurements. Today, the vegetation is so high that
neither the canal nor the river can be seen from this point. Note the rapid growth of the pine tree next to
the installation. (Photograph by the author)
65.
2.4 Ecosystem Services for Flood Management
For centuries, residents living near the Llobregat River feared the destruction caused by the
rivers floods. Apprehension and anxiety would probably best describe their relationship with the
Llobregat, a flumen terrible et periculosum.99 This apprehension was diluted only by a firm desire to tame
its waters and protect their property. The constant threat of flooding conditioned development around the
river. Overflowing waters threatened to wash away the winters food supply, essential bridges that
connected goods to market, homes, barns or livestock. Residents in the town of Sant Boi de Llobregat
pioneered flood control in 1597 by building a stone wall along the banks of the Llobregat River.
However these walls did not last long, as the river flooded them out repeatedly. A few years later, in the
early 1600s, the towns in the lower Llobregat joined forces to build a communal levee system. Alas, they
built the levees too close to the river, suffocating its flood plain, and this system too failed to withstand
the rivers strength. In 1638 the collaborative venture started anew, and this time they conceded the river
a 200 meter flood plain on each side in an effort that, records show, required considerable financial
sacrifice on the part of each collaborating municipality. But these structures too failed to contain the
By the late 1800s, engineers began to look upstream for flood control measures. They surmised
that if they could build a dam in the mid section of the watershed it would allow them to retain peak flows
and prevent flood damage. The waters held behind the dam could be released gradually when the risk of
flooding had past. A dam-oriented solution to the Llobregats flooding problems would also permit the
administration to store water for the dry season. Farmers were especially interested in water for irrigation
during the summer months, and the owners of the hydro-powered textile mills sought reliable flows to
99
Terrible and dangerous river Codina, J. 1971b. Inundacions al delta del Llobregat. Episodis de la histria. Vol.
147-148. Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau.p 74.
100
Codina, J. 1971. El delta del Llobregat i Barcelona. Gneres i formes de vida dels segles XVI al XX. Hores de
Catalunya. Esplugues de Llobregat: Edicions Ariel.
66.
By 1890, an engineer named Salvador Peydr had drawn up the plans to construct a dam along
the main stem of the Llobregat near Cabrianes. The project was designed to flood 400 hectares and retain
48 million cubic meters of water. The goal was to prevent flood damage by regulating flows, while at the
same time increase irrigation supplies. Proponents of the dam also argued that it could provide the city of
Barcelona with an additional source of drinking water. Peydr estimated that the dam would supply the
lower Llobregat with a steady flow of 8 cubic meters per second year round. This would be a huge
improvement, since between the months of June and September the discharge in the Llobregat often
dipped below 4 cubic meters. When the project was submitted, it was Spains largest hydraulic venture
The engineered approach to flood management found its opposition from a forester, Rafael Puig
Valls, an avid field scientist and naturalist. Later in his career, in 1904, Puig Valls would become the first
to advocate for the creation of protected areas in Catalonia: the mountains of Montserrat, the Montseny
and the Collserola ridge that hovers over Barcelona.102 But during the debate concerning the Cabrianes
dam, Puig Valls merely spoke as a forester who understood the relationship between forest ecosystems
and hydrologic flows. His criticism of the dam project emerged from his acute observations of the
Llobregat River throughout the seasons. He saw that the Llobregat had been transformed by deforestation
upstream and hypothesized that the flow regime observed in 1890 had already been modified by human
activities. For instance, he felt that the severe channel incision in the Llobregat was the result of higher
flows concentrated in shorter periods. Salvador Peydr and Rafael Puig Valls observed the same flooding
events in the Llobregat watershed, and yet they drew remarkably different conclusions. Whereas Peydr
characterized the torrential floods as part of a natural flow regime, Puig Valls concluded that the floods
were the artifice of poor forest management in the Pyrenees Mountains. Puig Valls recognized that
101
Puig i Valls, R. 1890. El Llobregat: aguas y montes. Revista de Montes. Ao XIV. Nm 325-327. Madrid. Real
Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona.
102
Boada, M. 1995. Rafael Puig i Valls (1845-1920) Precurso de l'educaci ambiental i dels espais naturals
protegits. Barcelona: Departament de Medi Ambient, Generalitat de Catalunya. Born in 1845, Puig Valls studied
forestry. Following a trip to the United States, he returned to promote the celebration of Arbor Day.
67.
Mediterranean streams naturally had erratic discharge, in fact, he emphasized this irregularity as a central
feature of Mediterranean streams. But Puig Valls also stressed that recent flooding events had become
more severe as a result of human modifications to the watershed and disruptions to the hydrological cycle.
In several essays published by the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona, Puig Valls
applied his ecological and hydrological expertise to criticize the Cabrianes dam project. For Puig Valls,
the dam proposal was excessively ambitious, expensive and unnecessary. For the same financial
investment, he argued, residents could achieve better results by investing in the restoration of forest
ecosystems in the upper segment of the watershed, complimented with only smaller flood control
structures. In contrast to the proposal offered by Salvador Peydr, Puig Valls argued that reforestation
and ecological restoration could regulate the waters flow without relying on the building of dams or on
the specialized procedures of the domain of the construction industry.103 This positioned Puig Valls as
the first in Spain to advocate for flood control measures that adopted an ecosystem approach.
When Puig Valls surveyed the upper Llobregat watershed, he lamented that severe deforestation
and grazing were causing massive erosion and flooding. The water precipitates onto the steep slopes of
the upper Llobregat watershed, and when it falls on the denuded land and exposed rocks, the waters fall
with a thunder, and rapidly searches for the channel toward the sea. 104 This trend needed to be reversed.
We must research then, how to modify the effects of evaporation and retain these waters in its course in
order to transform the rapid and violent flushes of water into constant flows, slow and calm, that is to say,
103
Puig i Valls, R. 1890. El Llobregat: aguas y montes. Revista de Montes. Ao XIV. Nm 325-327. Madrid. Real
Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona. pg 36
104
Puig i Valls, R. 1890. El Llobregat: aguas y montes. Revista de Montes. Ao XIV. Nm 325-327. Madrid. Real
Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona. pg 379
Caen las aguas en las Fuertes pendientes de la Cuenca alta del Llobregat y al encontrar el suelo desarbolado, y la
roca al descubierto, las aguas se precipitan con estrpito y corren veloces a buscar la vaguada principal hasta
llegar al mar.
68.
we must normalize the flow regime in our waterways, both in the main stem and its tributaries of the
Puig Valls praised forests for regulating the Llobregats waters. His essays went into great detail
to describe the hydrologic cycle in a forest ecosystem. The forest slowed and retained water, cushioning
the rain drops fall on its leaves, travelling along its branches and trunks, slowed again by the forest
understory, and then filtering into the soil and aquifer. He contrasted waters leisurely travel through the
forest with the speed and strength that waters would develop in denuded areas, where regardless of how
gentle the slope, the runoff would gush rapidly into the streams and swell them quickly. He compared
the retention capacity of forests to a natural reservoir or sponge that gradually released water throughout
the seasons. Forested areas withhold large amounts of water that is retained by the roots of the
vegetation, which, having acted like a sponge, do not let a single drop run along the surface, and do not
create a single ditch.106 He also pointed out that the forests shaded the earth, protecting the soil from the
hot sun, and maintained humidity beneath the vegetation. Furthermore, forests helped maintain a steady
flow in mountain springs since the slow percolation of water through the leaves, organic matter, and soil
Puig Valls was not the first to observe the relationship between forests and water flow, and in his
writings we see considerable influences from George Perkins Marsh. Sixteen years prior to the
publication of Puig Valls essay on the Llobregat, Marsh had written The Earth as Modified by Human
105
Puig i Valls, R. 1890. El Llobregat: aguas y montes. Revista de Montes. Ao XIV. Nm 325-327. Madrid. Real
Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona. pg 379
Hemos de investigar, pues, la manera de modificar los efectos de la evaporacin, y retener las aguas en su curso
para convertir los desagues rpidos y violentos en corrientes constantes, lentas y tranquilas, es decir, hemos de
normalizar el rgimen de las aguas en los cauces del ro principal y de los afluentes del Llobregat que tienen hoy
carcter torrencial.
106
Puig i Valls, R. 1890. El Llobregat: aguas y montes. Revista de Montes. Ao XIV. Nm 325-327. Madrid. Real
Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona. pg 380
La superficie arbolada presenta todos los caracters de un suelo abrigado, de evaporacin lenta que retiene en su
masa una gran cantidad de agua que absorben las races de las plantas, y que habiendo hecho oficio de esponja, no
han dejado correr una sola gota de ella por la superficie, que no presenta como surco alguno
69.
Actions while serving as an American diplomat in Rome.107 As a diplomat and linguist who specialized
in the Icelandic language, Marsh was an unlikely figure to write the first treatise on environmental
protection. But his work caught the attention of scholars and intellectuals, and today he is credited with
starting the conservationist movement in the United States. Puig Valls must have read the writings by
When Marsh was writing in the late nineteenth century, pioneers in the United States were
moving west, to the arid states of Colorado, Arizona and California. But while his contemporaries
travelled west, Marsh went east, to the aging European continent, where he would read and write about
the past. Stationed in Rome, surrounded by the eroded columns of an extinguished civilization, Marsh
was intrigued by the causes of Romes collapse. His linguistic dexterity allowed him to devour texts in
Latin, Italian, French, German, and Spanish; all of which uncovered a series of environmental fiascos,
Marsh recounted examples in which deforestation led to diminished stream flow or perishing
springs. Puig Valls took this one step further by applying this knowledge to oppose a dam project and
advocate for ecological restoration. The reforestation proposal became his alternative to the structural
approaches offered by Peydr. From our historical distance, we can now appreciate that Puig Valls was
advocating for the management of forests for ecosystem services. Furthermore, Puig Valls claimed that
the management of the watershed would allow the Government to meet the same objectives at a lower
cost. Puig Valls faith in ecosystems contrasted with his skepticism of engineered solutions. He warned
that the rectification work of the Llobregat River in Molins de Rei would be deficient, incomplete and
useless if they were not supported by improvements in the upper segment of the watershed.108 Over
107
Marsh was exceedingly educated and well read. Born in Vermont in 1801, he studied at Dartmouth, and learned
to speak many languages. In 1849, President Zachery Taylor sent him on a diplomatic mission to represent the
United States before the Ottoman Empire. Later Marsh was sent to Greece, and in 1861 President Abraham Lincoln
dispatched him to Rome as the American Ambassador in Italy.
108
Puig i Valls, R. 1904. El Llobregat: sus cuencas alta media y baja y obras indispensables que hay que realizar en
ellas para conseguir que las inundaciones sean cada vez menos temibles y las aguas normales ms constantes con
70.
time, Puig Valls became more explicit. In 1904 he wrote, it is evident that if forests occupied large parts
of the upper Llobregat watershed the effects from flooding would be reduced because of the forests
powerful influence as an agent that retains, filters, and captures the waters that fall on its slopes.109
Eventually, the Cabrianes dam project was discarded because of resistance from the flooded
municipalities. The opposition from Puig Valls was probably a footnote in the final decision to table the
project, however as we will see, his ideas remained influential in discussions on flood management in the
Pyrenees Mountains.
Around the time of Puig Valls writings in 1890, land managers in the United States had also
noticed that forest ecosystems helped retain hydrologic flows. One of the early advocates for hydro-
reforestation works in California was William Mulholland, the Public Water Commissioner of Los
Angeles at the turn of the century. Mulhollands leadership of the hydraulic projects that brought water to
the city of Los Angeles has been immortalized by Marc Reisners book Cadillac Desert, and the movie
Chinatown. Therefore it may be surprising to learn that Mulholland initially opposed dams, and surface
water transport systems in general, because of the water lost to evaporation. For Mulholland groundwater
was more reliable and efficient. This led him to advocate for the reforestation of mountains in California
to improve water retention and infiltration. And when the former Mayor of Los Angeles approached
Mulholland with the idea of transporting water from the Owens Valley on the Eastern face of the Sierra
aumentos de riqueza pblica y particular. Memorias de la Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona, tecera
poca. Vol. IV, nm. 40. Barcelona. p 536.
109
Puig i Valls, R. 1904. El Llobregat: sus cuencas alta, media y baja y obras indispensables que hay que realizar en
ellas, para conseguir que las inundaciones sean cada vez menos temibles, y las aguas normales ms constantes, con
aumentos de riqueza pblica y particular. Memorias de la Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona, tecera
poca. Vol. IV, nm. 40. Barcelona. p 427
Claro es y evidente que, si existieran grandes superficies arbolados en la Cuenca alta del Llobregat, los efectos de
la inundacin seran menores, porque las influencias poderosas de su accin, como agentes que retienen, filtran y
detienen las aguas en su cada sobre las vertientes
71.
Nevadas to Los Angeles, Mulholland originally thought the idea absurd.110 Only later, the ex-Mayor of
Los Angeles convinced Mulholland of the scheme, and he became the projects lead promoter.
The United States Senate also recognized the contribution of forests in stabilizing water flows. In
the Organic Administration Act of 1897, the same Act that created the US Forest Service, it states that
forests could be protected for the purpose of creating favorable conditions of water flow.111 Thus
forests contribution to water management was appreciated in Europe as well as the United States.
In 1907 a tremendous flood ripped through the Llobregat basin, washing away many industries in
the Cardener and Llobregat valleys. This disaster re-energized concerns about flooding in the Llobregat
valley. Motivated by this recent flood, the Spanish Cortes asked Senator Duran Ventosa to chair an
investigation into the Llobregats flooding problems. His recommendations published in 1914 picked up
Duran Ventosa emphasized that towns and villages depended on the Llobregat for their well-
being. He spoke of collaboration with the river, and of developing activities that were appropriate with
the rivers needs. Like a sick patient, it was necessary to dedicate the necessary attention to the
Llobregats problems, but not only during times of floods, but also under regular conditions, when
problems can be resolved with more sobriety and veritable efficacy.113 The Senators report came
twenty four years after Puig Valls first proposed hydro-reforestation projects for the Llobregat basin and
advocated for an aggressive reforestation program. But the Catalan Government was not able to act on
these proposals until the return of the Spanish Republic in the 1930s.114 Starting in 1933 the Catalan
110
Reisner, M. 1993. Cadillac Desert: The American West and its disappearing water. Penguin Books: New York. p
61
111
Ibid. p 83
112
Duran Ventosa, L. 1914. Memoria sobre alguns problemes ques presenten en el riu Llobregat. Barcelona:
Diputaci Provincial de Barcelona. Biblioteca de Catalunya.
113
Ibid.
114
In 1914 the Catalan government still had limited autonomy under the Spanish Crown.
72.
Generalitat began to fund reforestation projects in the Pyrenees with the explicit goal of regulating water
The debate over flood management in the Llobregat watershed brings into sharp relief the
competing approaches to river management. Puig Valls and Duran Ventosa interpreted the floods as
symptomatic of poor ecosystem management whereas dam advocates asserted that the new structural
designs would allow them to build a definitive solution to flooding problems. The competing camps also
relied on different schools of knowledge to support their position; some favored knowledge about
structures and cement, while others valued knowledge about forests and soils.
The writings of George Perkins Marsh, Rafael Puig Valls and Duran Ventosa show us that ideas
about ecosystem services are hardly new. These ideas were even put into practice by the Spanish
Republic in the 1930s. But ultimately, approaches that favored ecosystem management were pushed
aside for engineering strategies that sought to dominate water resources through structural design.
It is difficult to pin-point exactly why notions of ecosystem services were pushed aside in favor of
structural designs. Perhaps it was because projects relying on ecosystem management did not pull
together a coalition of political and economic interests to support its execution. In contrast, structural
solutions usually had strong backers who would benefit greatly from the contract and execution. Puig
Valls even refers to these economic interests in his writings. And globally, dam builders have yielded
considerable political influence.116 I have not undertaken a detailed investigated into the political
relationships between dam builders and political powers in the Llobregat watershed at the beginning of
the twentieth century. But I did uncover at least one instance in where there was a connection. Joan Pich i
Pon, the Mayor of Barcelona (1935), and later Civil Governor of Catalonia, built his financial fortune
with the construction of dams in the Pyrenees and selling the electricity they produced. His company
Electricadad del Cad won several contracts, after which, he decided to enter politics. In 1929, prior to
115
(Boletin Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 1933)
116
McCully, P. 2001. Silenced Rivers. The ecology and politics of large dams. Zed Books, New York.
73.
becoming Mayor of Barcelona, Pich i Pon secured water rights to build a hydroelectric dam along the
Cardener River.117 His project never came to fruition, even though the dam was eventually built by
someone else 30 years later. Therefore I suspect that there must have been more connections between the
political and economic elites that would favor the building of large infrastructure projects. The mining
companies took care to hire advisors in Madrid to stay informed with political and regulatory
developments, and the same was probably true for proposals surrounding water management. Without the
Figure 2.13 Rafael Puig Valls (1845-1920). (Image from Boada 1995)
117
Gaceta de Madrid, 1929. Ministerio de Fomento. Direccin General de Obras Pblicas. 24 Febrero. Num 55. p.
1479.
74.
2.5 Conclusion
Nature tells us that we must look at the origin of our ills to find our cure.118
Reviewing the struggle over salinity values in the Llobregat River has helped us identify the
major figures and institutions in the watershed: the industrialists that harnessed the rivers power; the
private water company Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona; the Water Resources Agency of the
Eastern Pyrenees; Spanish Ministry of Public Works; the Regional Government of Catalonia; and the
mining companies.
The conflict also illustrated how these stakeholders made decisions about their water resources.
The degree of democratic participation in these decisions evolved in step with the political changes taking
place in Spain. During the Primo de Rivera Dictatorship, power was centralized and the pollution
problems of the Cardener and Llobregat Rivers were delegated to a small group of experts with close ties
to the mining industry. A new formula did not appear until Spain transitioned to a Republican
democracy. The CESALL Commission began to operate during a period of democratic governance, and
they soon invited the competing parties to participate in the search for solutions.
It should be recognized that the CESALL Commission was a remarkable institution for its time,
and they undertook the first watershed planning process in the Llobregat basin. This planning process
revealed the competing visions for the rivers future as rival water users sought to secure the river-related
services that most benefited them.119 But the commission members also sought to resolve these conflicts
with the best science available. The commission meticulously collected water quality samples, they
reviewed the new data, and consulted experts from Germany and abroad.
118
Y que en el origen del mal cabe buscar remedio, lo dice la misma naturaleza.
119
Not all stakeholders were represented in the CESALL commission. Fishing interests were notably absent. But
the CESALL commission at least began with a public request for information so the public could inform the
deliberations.
75.
It is difficult to argue the salinity conflict was not resolved because of an inappropriate
institutional framework for watershed management. Instead I find that it was precisely the type of
consensus that emerged from the CESALL commission that set Barcelona on a path of hydraulic
dominance. Agreement was reached on various fronts, but first and foremost, the brine collector project
emerged as the definitive solution to the salinity problems of the Llobregat River. The regulatory
approach was only an emergency measure; designed to hold back chloride concentrations until the
structural solutions were put in place. The Salinity Law of 1933 was loosely enforced as chloride
concentrations regularly surpassed the maximum value of 250 mg/L starting in 1935. The lax
enforcement suggests that the regulatory solution was never taken seriously. Instead of managing the
pollutants at their source, governing officials in Barcelona and Madrid placed their bets on the brine
collector, which together with the dams, would resolve the salinity problems in the Llobregat River.
The outcome of this planning process helps us understand how Barcelona was sent down a path
of expensive and energy intensive water treatment. More often than not, major decisions in the watershed
were guided by a faith in engineered solutions. This is evident in the decision to build the brine collector;
raise the dams; withdraw water at the base of the watershed, and most recently, install desalination
systems. All of these decisions share the conviction that technological mastery would solve Barcelonas
water problems. These choices are in fact part of a continuum; evolving in step with technological
The historian Donald Worster has described the irrigation society of the American West as
trapped by their own inventions, encased in its past and unable to escape its own history.120
Barcelonas hydraulic system is no different. Water managers have inherited dams, canals, pipes and
membranes that pushes them further along a trajectory already chosen by their predecessors. They also
have inherited certain notions about how the river should be managed. Over time, these beliefs go
reverse osmosis membranes. At the drinking water plant in Abrera you can see the batteries that send
electrical pulses through the water to pull out charged ions from the rivers water. These desalination
systems are the logical continuation of a belief system based on technical fixes and hydraulic dominance.
The energy intensive systems form part of a long tradition of technological remedies that attempt to solve
Contemporary praise for reverse osmosis desalination as the ultimate barrier in water treatment
is reminiscent of the reverence bestowed on the brine collector project as the definitive solution. And
this conviction that technology will resolve the problems of the Llobregat River has diverted attention
away from the upstream sources of the predicament. Even when the brine collector was completed in
1988, fifty six years after it was proposed by the CESALL commission, water managers remained
burdened by a cocktail of contaminants that arrive at the entry point of the two major drinking water
facilities. Thus the technological improvements have arguably permitted the mines to continue their
The history of the salt pollution also informs a debate about the origins of the salts found in the
Cardener and Llobregat Rivers. In 1932 not a single member of the CESALL commission denied that the
potassium mines were dumping salty effluent into the river. If anything, the questions pertained to how
much was being released and if those effluents could be causally linked with the rise in salinity in the
aquifer down below. This history provides unambiguous evidence that the salinity in the Llobregats
waters is the product of human activities, and yet this conclusion would be redundantly obvious to water
Without a clear historical account of a rivers pollution problems, it is easy for competing
narratives fill the void. Mining interests today insist that the chloride found in the Llobregat River comes
from natural sources. And this narrative has gained traction among reputable institutions. In a document
written by a regional planning agency in the 1980s, the Llobregat River is described to have high
77.
concentrations of salts due to the dissolution of salt rocks that are mined in the watershed.121 In other
words, the high chloride values can be attributed to the protruding salt diapers in Cardona. The report
goes on to explain that the Llobregat aquifer at the time (1980s) was extracting water with chloride
concentrations of 600 mg/L, far above the 79 mg/L detected in 1925, or the legal limit in Palleja of 250
mg/L. Nevertheless, these chloride concentrations were deemed acceptable.122 It must be recognized
that some portion of the chloride content in the rivers can be attributable to the natural geology. But it is
equally undeniable that mining activity has caused the severe salinization of the Llobregat River and its
aquifer.
Efforts to dominate rivers have overshadowed attempts to seek more symbiotic relationships with
river ecosystems. Puig Valls appreciated how forest ecosystems could help retain water in the upper parts
of the watershed through ecosystem processes that had no need for human intervention, only the
restoration of ecosystem functions that had been lost. This makes contemporary advocates of ecosystem
services heirs to the ideals proposed by Rafael Puig Valls and George Perkins Marsh. They sought to
reawaken society to our dependence on ecosystem processes. Similarly, the field of ecosystem services
invites us to reexamine our relationship with natural systems and broaden the management options
So even if ideas about ecosystem services are not entirely new, they still diverge from mainstream
approaches for water treatment and distribution. Few are proposing an ecosystem services approach to
address the watershed problems found in the Llobregat today. And the idea that ecosystem processes can
be of value to downstream users has often been met with skepticism by local users. Perhaps this is
because ecosystem-based approaches to water management run contrary to the training provided in the
121
ro Llobregat, ro que como se sabe lleva aguas con alto contenido de sales debido a la disolucin de rocas
salferas de la Cuenca minera de la depresin central catalana. Corporacin Metropolitana de Barcelona. 1986.
Usos agrcolas de los mrgenes y delta del Llobregat. Barcelona. p 21.
122
Corporacin Metropolitana de Barcelona. 1986. Usos agrcolas de los mrgenes y delta del Llobregat. Barcelona.
p 29.
78.
water treatment field. Aspiring water treatment managers are taught to master mass-balance equations, or
many ecosystem processes in freshwater rivers remains outside their field. In the field of water treatment,
notions about ecosystem services might offer a useful and interdisciplinary perspective to address water
treatment problems.
especially useful to interrogate mainstream notions that go unquestioned. Without a firm historical
foundation, we may be tempted to believe that current dysfunctions are the natural state of affairs rather
than an exception. We might also submit to the status quo, and accept that our rivers have always been
managed this way. At worst, we might surrender to the poor state of our rivers instead of working for a
cleaner future.
79.
2.6 Acknowledgements
Many have helped me develop this historical research. Good friends and strangers have pointed me in the
right direction and selflessly answered my questions. In particular, I would like to thank my advisor,
Daniel Schneider for reading several drafts and providing suggestions for improvement; Santiago
Gorostiza for sharing notes and documentation from the AGBAR Archives as well as providing valuable
feedback on drafts; Roger Lloret for his vivid stories about key events in the watershed and for
connecting me with other knowledgeable individuals, Esteve Torrens Prez de los Cabos, grandson of
Antnia Burs Borrs, for the detailed description of his grandmother and for family photos; Albert
Fbrega Enfedaque for selflessly sharing his insight and information about the history of mining in Sria;
Antonio Snchez, for his gift of the book Cum Grano Salis and for his willingness to answer my
questions; Sara Ortiz Escalante, for help in translations; Jordi Mir for sharing his insight about Spanish
trains of the era; Enric Toms Guix for providing tips on how to conduct historical research; the
Municipal Archives of Sallent and Sria for allowing me to reproduce material; the Arxiu Comarcal in
Vilafranca del Peneds; and the librarians at the Biblioteca de Catalunya and Arxiu Nacional de
80.
2.7 References Chapter 2
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Aldom, I. 2007. La lluita per l'aigua a Catalunya. De l'us, abs a la gesti integral (1900-2007). Pags Editors.
Lleida, Spain.
Arnau Reitg, R. 1981. La mineria del Bages: una visi retrospectiva. XXVI Assemblea Intercomarcal d'estudiosos a
Manresa (pp. 53-58). Centre d'Estudis del Bages. Manresa, Spain.
Balcells, Albert. 1998. De la crisi del rgim autonmic a laixecament military del 1936. In Histria de Catalunya.
Volum XI. 1586-1600. Salvat Editores: Barcelona, Spain.
Boada, M. 1995. Rafael Puig i Valls (1845-1920) Precurso de l'educaci ambiental i dels espais naturals protegits.
Departament de Medi Ambient, Generalitat de Catalunya. Barcelona, Spain.
Bolaos, A. 2004. Aiges de Barcelona, histria dels reptes per al subministrament daigua. In 214-225. In Prat, N
and Tello, E. El Baix Llobregat: histria i actualitat ambiental dun riu. Centre destudis Comarcals del Baix
Llobregat. Barcelona, Spain.
Brenan, G. 1943. The Spanish Labyrinth (12th Edition ed.) Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Carol, M. 1991. El Llobregat: Un Cam daigua. Langwerg Editions. Diputaci de Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain.
Cioc, M. 2002. The Rhine. An Eco-biography, 1815-200. University of Washington Press: Seattle, WA.
Corporacin Metropolitana de Barcelona. 1986. Usos agrcolas de los mrgenes y delta del Llobregat. Barcelona.
Cronon, W. 1995. Uncommon ground: toward reinventing nature. W.W. Norton & Co.: New York.
De Sarra, M. 1935. El abastecimiento de aguas de Barcelona y los yacimientos de sles potsicas. Qumica e
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Duran Ventosa, L. 1914. Memoria sobre alguns problemes ques presenten en el riu Llobregat. Diputaci Provincial
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Estevan, A. and N. Prat. 2006. Alternativas para la gestin del agua en Catalua: Una visin desde la perspectiva de
la nueva cultura del agua. Fundacin Nueva Cultura del Agua. Zaragoza and Bakeaz: Bilbao, Spain.
Fbrega Enfedaque, A. 2009. Cum Grano Salis: La Sal i la Potassa a Sria 1185-1982. Ajuntament de Sria &
Iberpotash.
Ferret, J. 2006. Els orgens del processos de salinitzaci de les aiges subterrnies de la conca del Llobregat per les
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Ferret, J. 1985. Laprofitament de les aiges subterrnies del Delta del Llobregat. Comunitat dUsuaris DAiges de
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Gorostiza, S., J. Honey-Ross and R. Lloret (in prep). Rius de Sal: Una visi histrica de la salinitzaci dels rius
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Gorostiza, S. 2010. El conflicto salino en el suministro de agua a Barcelona (1925 1940). Encuentro Cientfico
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Hughes, R. 1992. Barcelona. Knopf: New York.
Latorre, X. 1995. Historia de laigua a Catalunya. Labecedari. Premia de Mar, Spain.
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CHAPTER 3. URBAN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGE
Abstract
Research on ecosystem services has focused mostly on natural areas or remote places, with less attention
given to urban ecosystem services and their relationship with technological change. Perhaps this is
because environmental planners, scientists and managers often view technology a substitute for services
previously obtained from ecosystems. This substitution ostensibly reduces our reliance on natures
services since the superiority of the engineered system motivated the replacement in the first place. I
argue that the expected tradeoff between natural and manufactured capital is false. Rather, the adoption of
new technologies is complementary to ecosystem management. This point is illustrated with a case study
in Barcelona, Spain where the installation of sophisticated water treatment technology increased the value
of ecosystem services found there. This finding suggests that technological change is not a barrier for the
implementation of ideas about ecosystem services. Instead, we can expect the value of ecosystem services
to co-evolve with technological change. I propose that new technologies may shift which ecosystem
functions and structures are valuable but are unlikely to obviate the need for them entirely. New
technologies can generate new opportunities to harness value from ecosystems, and the engineered
structures found in cities may generate more reliance on ecosystem processes, not less.
Keywords: Urban Ecosystem Services, Natural Capital, Technology, Substitution, Water Treatment,
Desalination
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3.1 Introduction
Research on ecosystem services has focused mostly on natural areas or remote places that harbor
biological diversity (Naidoo and Ricketts, 2006; Armsworth et al., 2007; Fisher et al., 2011). Less
attention has been given to ecosystem services in human-dominated landscapes (e.g. Goldstein, 2007;
Eigenbrod et al., 2009; Bai et al., 2011). The focus on natural settings is driven by the assumption that
ecosystem services are more likely to emerge from places untouched by human settlement. Urban
environments, by contrast, are rarely associated with ecosystem services, but rather with engineered
The focus on natural areas makes sense if one remembers that the notion of ecosystem services
was developed by conservation biologists (Ehrlich and Mooney, 1983; Daily, 1997) in collaboration with
economists to find new arguments for ecosystem protection (Costanza et al., 1997). This origin has left an
imprint on the field, as researchers are far more likely to examine ecosystem services in biologically rich
countries, often in the developing world, rather than in industrialized nations (Norgaard, 2010).
Implementing the concept of ecosystem services is primarily being advocated for developing countries
while in the developed countries, with few exceptions, it is much less frequently advocated, let alone
implemented (Norgaard (2010), 1222). Ideas about ecosystem services were well received in the
developing world because they unified conservation and development goals (Sachs and Reid, 2006). It
gave the land owners of biologically rich areas a new reason for stewardship. And the programs that paid
for ecosystem services provided financial incentives for conservation (Wunder, 2008).
This chapter looks at ecosystem services in urban environments and examines the relationship
between technological change and the value of ecosystem services. I question the implicit tradeoff
between the two and find that technological change can increase the value of some ecosystem services. In
the section 2, I motivate the study of ecosystem services in urban environments. Then, in section 3, I
analyze the relationship between ecosystem services and technology and present my argument on how
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this relationship may be symbiotic and complementary. Next, in section 4, I provide a case study in which
I examine how new water treatment technologies in Barcelona, Spain altered the mix and value of
ecosystem services found there. The case traces the value of three ecosystem services: water quality
protection, thermal regulation and nutrient cycling before and after technological change. Finally, in
section 5, I extrapolate lessons from the case and discuss the broader implications for research on
Relatively few scholars have ventured into urban settings to identify the ecosystem services found
within city limits. At the same time, ecologists have a long history of studying urban ecosystems
(Sanders, 1984; McDonnell and Pickett, 1990; Forman, 1995). Undeterred by the smog, smoke and
cement that dominate most metropolitan areas, urban ecologists have produced a reputable specialization
within ecology that examines how species survive, behave and reproduce in urban environments.
Abandoned lots, train tracks, city parks and parking lots provide unique conditions for ecologists to test
theories about adaptation, selection or island biogeography. And the insight from urban ecology has
generated practical guidelines for managing ecosystems in cities. This study of ecology in cities has
established the foundation for our understanding of ecological processes in urban environments.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, urban ecologists have found that metropolitan areas support a
wealth of species diversity, albeit largely non-native, that can surpass the diversity found in rural areas
(Pickett et al., 2011). Biological diversity in urban environments is also strongly correlated with the social
and economic conditions of its human inhabitants (Hope et al., 2003). This co-evolutionary relationship
between ecological and social systems has raised doubts about studying urban ecology in isolation from
the social context. If the ecological system being examined is, in practice, a reflection of the human
conditions that surround it, then perhaps it makes more sense to study the human-environmental system
as a singular entity. This line of research has been pursued by urban ecologists who study the ecology of
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cities. In this approach, the human and biophysical environments are analyzed in unison, and the city is
studied as a socio-ecological system that consumes energy, materials, and water. Research on the
ecology of cities most clearly overlaps with the discussion taking place in the literature on ecosystem
services. Notwithstanding, few authors who study the ecology of cities contextualize their research as
one concerning ecosystem services, even though the questions they ask are relevant to disentangle the
Clearly, urban ecosystems provide multiple services for their human inhabitants. Urban ecologists
have documented how urban street trees purify our air, dampen noise and moderate summer heat; while
parks offer places to play, and wetlands process our waste (Forman, 1995; Bolund and Hunhammar,
1999). City street trees in Chicago capture 17 metric tons of C ha-1 y -1 while urban forests in Oakland,
California capture 11 metric tons of C ha-1 y -1 (Pickett et al., 2001). Urban rivers cycle nutrients, and
reduce the threat of flooding (Grimm, 2005; Lundy and Wade, 2011). Many times, the services provided
by particular urban ecosystems are clear. But sometimes, certain areas are overlooked. A review of
ecosystem services in England - a human-dominated landscape - showed that ecosystem services came
from areas that were not targeted for payments for environmental services (Eigenbrod et al., 2009). Thus
the sites that generate the most ecosystem services are not necessarily the ones prioritized for protection.
We also tend to associate urbanization with a decline in ecosystem services. For example, in a
study in San Antonio, Texas, researchers examined the effects of urban sprawl on ecosystem service
provision. They found that urbanization led to a 4% net decline in the value of ecosystem services
because of the conversion of rangelands, forests and cropland to urban areas between 1976 and 1991
(Kreuter et al., 2001). The value of lost ecosystem services were estimated based on $/ha -1 coefficients
per biome type reported in Costanza et al. (1997). Urbanization has also been found to reduce the
capacity of streams to process nutrients (Meyer et al. 2005, Grimm et al. 2005). The suite of services lost
in urban rivers and streams are a central feature of the urban stream syndrome (Walsh et al., 2005).
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Urbanization can change the demand for ecosystem services in addition to reducing their supply.
Urban and suburban growth usually increases population densities, increasing the demand for services
related to water purification, flood control, recreation, and food production, among others. A study in the
Leipzig-Halle region of Germany found that between 1990 and 2007, urban growth increased the demand
for ecosystem services, especially in rural and suburban areas (Kroll et al., 2012). Modeling the impact of
future land use changes on the spatial distribution of ecosystem services remains challenging, because
projected land use changes will alter both supply and demand simultaneously. In a study in the United
Kingdom, projected land use changes led to decreases in carbon storage and agricultural services, in
Ecosystem services can also be designed into urban environments. Urban planners have taken the
lead in integrating ecological concepts and functions into city landscapes. Frederick Law Olmstead
designed an Emerald Necklace of green areas along the Boston Fens and Riverway. This plan showed
his appreciation for green spaces as useful amenities that can simultaneously provide multiple services for
the public (Spirn, 1984). Later, Ian McHargs seminal piece Design in Nature encouraged planners to
think about how to exploit the physical layout of a site to improve user functionality (McHarg, 1969).
More recently, landscape architects and urban planners are studying how ecological processes can
be integrated into cities with urban designs that include solar panels, green roofs, or rain gardens. Green
roofs improve storm water management, moderate building temperature, reduce the urban heat island
effect, and provide habitat for wildlife (Oberndorfer et al., 2007). Lundy and Wade (2011) propose
designing-in ecosystem services into urban water management through the restoration of urban rivers.
The new language of ecosystem services and green infrastructure is starting to be adopted by
urban planners and city managers even if this new term merely describes practices that were well known
in the past. Indeed, the management of green infrastructure for ecosystem services is emerging as a
major new objective for city managers (Tzoulas et al., 2007). Similarly, a survey of city arborists finds
that managing green areas for their ecosystem services has become a new priority, and that maximizing
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these services for local residents is beginning to take precedence over more traditional goals in urban
City planners are enthusiastic about the potential to integrate green infrastructure and ecosystem
services into their designs. However ecosystems are not always benevolent, but can be unpleasant,
dangerous and produce unintended or negative consequences for human welfare. Urban ecosystem
disservices might include allergens, invasive species that eliminate native organisms, the hosting of
pathogens and pests, the obstruction of mobility, and an increase in greenhouse-gases (Pataki et al., 2011).
dominated landscapes. If mentioned at all, engineered systems are perceived as alternatives that compete
with green infrastructure and the services they offer. For advocates of an ecosystem approach,
technology is suspect because innovation may lead decision makers to replace ecosystem functions with
structural solutions.
Technology has always mediated our relationship with ecosystems and the services they provide.
Tools and instruments of various kinds have allowed humans to extract the benefits generated by
ecosystems for centuries. Irrigation techniques helped the ancient Egyptians harness water from the Nile
in order to boost agricultural production sometime around 3000 B.C. (Worster, 1985). Similarly,
mechanical farming has helped increase crop production (Boserup, 1976; Aldy et al., 1998; Raudsepp-
Yet in the literature on ecosystem services, technological change is perceived as a substitute for
natures services. Advocates for ecosystem services have certainly contributed to the juxtaposition
between technology and ecosystems as substitutes. The well known example of water purification
services for New York City (Daily and Ellison, 2002), or wastewater treatment with wetland ecosystems
instead of municipal treatment (Bolund and Hunhammar, 1999) are the clearest illustration of this
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substitution. Choosing nature over hard infrastructure has been hailed as financially superior due to lower
capital investments and lower maintenance costs (Chichilnisky and Heal, 1998).
When technology and ecosystems are compared side by side, environmentalists remind us that
ecosystems are more complex and self sustaining (Ehrlich and Mooney, 1983; Costanza, 2003). It has
been shown that technology is an inadequate replacement for ecosystems because engineered systems
lack the multi-functionality and connectivity of natural systems (Moberg and Rnnbck, 2003).
Ecosystems provide many services simultaneously, while a technology is usually designed for only one
(Raudsepp-Hearne et al., 2010). A wetland can treat wastewater and provide species habitat, or offer
recreational opportunities and produce aesthetic value. In an urban context, wetlands, detention ponds
and rain gardens may provide multiple ecological and cultural services (recreational and aesthetic values),
while a manufactured stormwater system is designed for the singular service associated with evacuating
urban runoff. Or when shrimp farmers convert mangroves to pools for aquaculture, they trade several
ecosystem services for the singular service of food production (Barbier et al., 2008). These examples
show us that the direction of the substitution matters greatly. The field of ecosystem services doubts
technologys ability to substitute for ecosystems, and champions ecosystems over technology.
Perhaps the case that has most contributed to our mental juxtaposition of nature versus
technology in the context of ecosystem services was New York Citys decision to rely on watershed
purification services instead of engineered filtration - a decision that saved the city an estimated $4.5
billion, plus $300 million in maintenance expenses (Chichilnisky and Heal, 1998). This celebrated
example thrust the notion of ecosystem services into the spotlight for the research community and popular
press (New York Times, 1994; Guterl, 2005). New Yorks management of ecosystem services generated
the expectation that other municipal governments, or even private businesses, would be able to adopt
similar ecosystem-based strategies with comparable financial outcomes. More than a decade later,
however, these expectations have not been met; nor has the success from New Yorks experience been
replicated in other cities (McCauley, 2006). The reason was that by the late 1990s, most municipal water
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suppliers in the United States had already installed the expensive filtration system that New York avoided
(NRC, 2000). With the filtration technology already in place, ecosystem management was no longer
deemed an option. This outcome fed the idea that relying on ecosystem services may be a viable in
pristine contexts, such as the Castskill Mountains in upstate New York, but has a limited potential in
technologically advanced landscapes, such as those municipalities that had already installed the water
filtration systems. This conclusion also captures our intuitive sense that the management of ecosystem
services is appropriate for pristine ecosystems, but once the engineered system is installed; there is no
reason to return to primitive methods of ecosystem management. The superiority of the engineered
system was the reason it was installed in the first place. According to this view, in technologically
Thus many assume that our reliance on ecosystem services is temporary until an engineered
alternative is found; one that might be more efficient, cost-effective or both - at which point, resource
users will switch to the designed systems instead. The necessity to switch to engineered systems has
instance, engineers developed water treatment technologies in the 19th century because of increasing
pollution in rivers and lakes (Melosi, 1999; Schneider, 2011). In these circumstances, the value of
innovation may develop the means to provide superior services. Consider the case in Gramercy,
Louisiana, where a wetland processed wastewater from Zapps Potato Chip Plant. The tertiary waste
water treatment services provided by the wetland were initially valued at $215,220 ($34,700/acre).
However when the volume of waste emitted from the plant exceeded the wetlands treatment capacity, the
company worked with their congressional representative to secure a federal earmark for $150,000 USD to
build a major high-tech waste treatment facility (Sagoff, 2011). In this case, the value of the ecosystem
service was tied to the absence of a particular technology. Once the technological conditions changed, the
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wetland could not be valued in the same way, nor be attributed the value of $34,700 per acre. While the
wetland certainly provided other services, those that generated the most value were substituted by the
designed system.
Similarly, technological innovation can motivate a switch away from natural systems to designed
systems. Take for example, the case of almond growers in California, who rely on pollination services
from bees. Nearby, citrus growers keep the same bees away from their crops because cross pollination
causes the citrus fruit to develop undesirable traits. If science were to develop new almonds varieties,
genetically-modified to self-pollinate, this innovation might encourage both almond and citrus farmers to
prefer artificial means of pollination. Thus the value of the pollination ecosystem services for both
growers is situated within its current technological context. Sagoff (2011) expands, The exchange value
of an ecosystem servicelike that of any goodis constantly negotiated in view of market conditions.
Technology also changes. One of the largest nurseries in California, the Dave Wilson Nursery, has
introduced an excellent self-fertile, i.e., self pollinating, almond. If a new cultivar of almond that sets
itself proves profitable, the citrus growers might pay the almond growers to adopt it, to eliminate the
The possibility that new technology will eventually substitute for ecosystem services has led
authors to criticize the field for being nave, or offering solutions that will be ineffective in the long run.
In a highly cited piece from Nature, McCauley (2006, 28) makes the case that conservation based on
ecosystem services commits the folly of betting against human ingenuity. The entire history of
technology and human progress is one of producing artificial substitutes for what we once obtained
from nature, or domesticating once-natural services I would argue that conservation plans that
underestimate the technological prowess of humans are bound to have short life spans. According to this
view, ecosystems are unlikely to remain competitive with technological improvements because humanity
will always be discovering better ways to meet our needs. These authors emphasize a tradeoff between
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services generated by ecosystems and those offered by technological substitutes (McCauley, 2006; Sagoff
2011).
Fossil fuel-based technologies in particular have allowed society to substitute for ecosystem
services, with synthetic fertilizers replacing manure, water treatment systems replacing the capacity for
self purification of rivers and lakes, or engineered structures replacing natural flood and erosion control
processes (Moberg and Rnnbck, 2003; Raudsepp-Hearne et al., 2010). Self proclaimed technological
optimists assert that human progress can be decoupled from ecological conditions entirely, and that this
substitution may continue as long as innovation outpaces environmental degradation (Goeller and
In this chapter I argued that the assumed tradeoff between ecosystem services and technology is
false, since these approaches can be complementary. Indeed, technological change can raise the value of
ecosystem services previously ignored, generate a demand for new services, or create new services
entirely. Neoclassical economic theory originally made the simplifying assumption that natural capital
could be substituted for other production inputs including manufactured capital (Gmez-Baggethun et al.,
2010). As evidence of this simplifying assumption, ecological economists often cite the following quote
by Robert Solow (Costanza and Daly, 1992; Clevland and Ruth, 1997; Gmez-Baggethun et al., 2010):
If it is very easy to substitute other factors for natural resources, then there is in principle no problem.
The world can, in effect, get along without natural resources, so exhaustion is just an event, not a
However this statement is taken out of context, since Solow himself argues that there are degrees
of substitution, not perfect substitution. A central contribution from ecological economics has been to
note the limits to substitution and the irreplacibility of many forms of natural capital (eg. Costanza and
Daly, 1992; Clevland and Ruth, 1997; Stern, 1997; Gmez-Baggethun et al., 2010). Ecological
economists have pointed out that manufactured capital will not be able to substitute for natural capital
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indefinately because our economic system is embedded within the limits of the natural world. It is
unlikely, for example, that manufactured capital will be able to replace lost biodiversity.
Costanza and Daly (1992) were the first to posit that natural and manufactured were
complementary, rather than substitutes: For any given level of technical knowledge, human made capital
and natural capital are, in general, complements, not substitutes (Costanza and Daly, 1992). However
this observation was made against the backdrop of the debate between technological optimists and
skeptics. Therefore the substitution moved in one direction: trading natural capital for manufactured
capital. My argument takes this proposition one step further. Even when sophisticated technology has
already been installed, either to replace ecosystem functions, or isolate managers from the uncertainty
associated with ecosystems, natural capital will remain complementary to technological change. That
is,the complementarity will remain for the very ecosystems that are affected by the technological change.
Furthermore, the mix of services used in the future will be different than today, with some services being
Emphasizing that technology and human choice mediates the supply of ecosystem services
amends our common conception of natural capital and the services they provide. Ecosystem services are
not intrinsic functions of the natural environment, fixed, distant and removed from society. Rather the
supply and value of ecosystem services are linked to human choices and technological change, and
therefore in constant evolution. Yet the myth of a fixed supply of ecosystem services, steadily decreasing
or deteriorating, has been enshrined as a central tenet in the field (eg Schrter et al., 2005; MA, 2005; Liu
et at.. 2010). Discussions about a decreasing supply of ecosystem services overlook our fluid relationship
with ecosystem services in the context of technological change. Too frequently we ignore the possibility
that human choice will alter which functions are valuable. Recognizing that the supply of ecosystem
services is not fixed opens the possibility of uncovering new ecosystem services in the future.
Furthermore, the malleable value generated by ecosystems implies that the study of ecosystem services
will remain relevant in technologically advance societies. My argument addresses both technological
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optimists and skeptics alike. For the technological optimists, the complementary feature of ecosystems
reaffirms that the benefits of technological progress will ripple out to society in innovative and
unexpected ways. While for the technological skeptics, I highlight the enduring relevance that
In the case study that follows, I examine how a major technological improvement at two drinking
water facilities changed the value of ecosystem services found upstream. I find that technology and
ecosystem services remain complementary even after the membrane system was installed.
drinking water supply (Mujeriego, 2006). Two treatment facilities withdraw water from the river. The
Aiges Ter-Llobregat (ATLL) facility in Abrera, Spain is a public water treatment wholesaler that
supplies municipal providers. Downstream, a second water treatment facility is owned and operated by
the private water company Aiges de Barcelona (AGBAR) in Sant Joan Desp. Between 2008 and 2010
both treatment plants simultaneously improved their treatment process by adding new desalination
membranes. ATLL purchased Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) technology (Valero and Arbs, 2010) while
AGBAR installed reverse osmosis membranes (Luque, 2008). This technological improvement was
motivated by new water quality standards that reduced the permissible level of total trihalomethanes to
below 100 g/L in drinking water (Royal Decree, 2003). In order to comply with the new regulation,
The surface waters from the Llobregat River are mineralized, with an especially high
concentration of salts and bromine (Fernandez-Turiel et al., 2003). These pollutants enter the river
through surface or groundwater flows that come into contact with the large mountains of salt deposited by
an extractive potash industry upstream (Fig 3.1) (Lloret, 2004; ATLL, 2008; Luque, 2008). The cause of
the Llobregats salinization was initially disputed by the mining companies, since the natural geology of
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the watershed contains the same minerals polluting the river. However a historical review (Chapter 2) as
well as an analysis using isotope tracers has linked the mineralization of the Llobregat River with
industrial processes from the potash mining industry (Otero and Soler, 2002).
Figure 3.1 Mine tailings in the mid section of the watershed are a major source of salinity in the
Llobregat River. The tailings are large mountains of salt exposed to the open air and in contact with the
groundwater below. Trenches have been built around the perimeter of the salty mountains to collect the
storm water, and channelize the runoff into a brine collector that transports the concentrate to the
Mediterranean. However the mine tailings remain a major source of salinity through groundwater
movements, and several springs surrounding the mine tailings have become saline. The names of the eight
mine tailings are Runam Nou, Runam Vell, Vall Salina (in Cardona), Cabanassas, Fustaret (in Sria),
Vilafruns, El Cogull and La Botjosa (in Sallent).
In 2009 the ATLL treatment facility installed an Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) desalination
system to remove bromine, the critical precursor to trihalomethanes, and ensure compliance with the new
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water quality standards. Dissolved ionic bromines are problematic for water treatment managers because
they contribute to the formation of trihalomethanes during the water treatment process (Nokes et al.
1999). Water with high concentrations of bromine and organic matter will form trihalomethanes when
they are mixed with chlorine during treatment (Srinivas Madabhushi 1999, Sorlini and Collivignarelli
2005). The concentrations of trihalomethanes in drinking water supplies are regulated because they are
carcinogenic (Nokes et al. 1999, Villanueva-Belmonte 2003), and higher water temperatures accelerate
the formation of trihalomethanes (Toroz and Uyak 2005). Disinfection by-products such as
trihalomethanes are usually removed by modifying the chlorine process or removing the chlorine
sensitive compounds (Gopal et al. 2007). Together with an expansion in treatment capacity, the new
system cost over 61 million (Valero and Arbs 2010). EDR technology separates dissolved ions such as
Br-, Cl-, and Na+ by applying electrical charges. The membranes reverse polarity between positive and
negative charges every twenty minutes to clean the membranes and reduce fouling incidents (AWWA
1995). When the EDR system was installed it was the largest of its type in the world (personal
Simultaneously, the second water treatment plant managed by AGBAR installed an ultrafiltration
and reverse osmosis system at their facility in Sant Joan Desp. Reverse osmosis has been hailed as the
ultimate barrier within the field of water treatment (Greenlee et al. 2009). Its advanced non-porous
material is capable of removing all dissolved solids including pharmaceutical compounds and pesticides
(Elimelech and Phillip 2011). AGBARs reverse osmosis system cost 75 million to purchase and install
(Luque 2008). Reverse osmosis technology is rarely used to treat surface water because these sources
provide lower quality feed water, which cause membranes to foul, and because of the expenses associated
with brine disposal at inland sites (Greenlee et al. 2009). A literature review has failed to uncover any
similar reverse osmosis systems treating surface water for municipal use. Only industrial users needing
premium water quality have installed reverse osmosis for treating surface water along the Main River in
Germany (Clever et al. 2000). On the other hand, reverse osmosis is frequently used to treat brackish
96.
groundwater (Greenlee et al. 2009). In comparison with older technologies, reverse osmosis marks a
clear departure from the traditional municipal water treatment systems that dominated the 20th century.
While EDR and reverse osmosis technologies differ, both water treatment plants share several
features. First, and most obviously, both systems adopt advanced desalination membrane systems that are
expensive to install and operate. Second, the new membranes did not replace the older system, but were
appended onto the pre-existing chain of treatment technologies (Fig 3.2 and Fig 3.3). Traditional water
treatment methods clarify turbid waters with coagulants, flocculants, settlement tanks, and sand and
activated carbon filters, and then disinfect the water with chlorine, chloramine, ultraviolet rays or ozone
(Crittenden et al. 2005). These traditional methods now serve as pre-treatment steps. Both systems were
also designed so that only a percentage of the treated water would be desalinated. Water managers control
the mixing ratio by adding desalination modules. AGBAR seeks a constant mixing ratio of 50%, while
ATLL varies their product mix based on seasonal considerations. Last, and most importantly for our study
of ecosystem services, the new treatment technologies significantly altered the cost structure of the
treatment process.
The new membrane systems incorporated two new water quality parameters into the treatment
cost function: (1) salinity, as measured by conductivity (S/cm), and (2) temperature (C). Both of these
water quality parameters became critical values once the new water treatment systems began to operate.
97.
Figure 3.2 Treatment Process at the ATLL-Abrera facility.
By choosing to install new water treatment systems downstream, water managers revealed their
preference for technological strategies over ecosystem approaches for improving source water quality.
And with the new sophisticated treatment system, they attained the capacity to meet output water quality
standards across a much wider range of input water qualities. Therefore, according to conventional
wisdom, the sophisticated new technology further isolated managers from the influence of ecosystem
processes. To assess the impact of technological change on the value of ecosystem services I analyzed
three ecosystem services: water quality protection (affecting salinity); thermal regulation (affecting
temperature); and nutrient cycling (affecting ammonium), before and after the adoption of new membrane
treatment.
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3.4.2 The Value of Ecosystem Services Following Technological Change
3.4.2.1 Salinity
The new water treatment technology was adopted to reduce the uncertainty surrounding
freshwater provision, and yet this installation created new linkages with ecosystem functions. Prior to the
installation of the desalination systems, treatment costs were impervious to fluctuations in salinity, largely
because the traditional treatment methods were incapable of removing chloride ions from the feed water.
Water managers did not modify their treatment process in response to fluctuating salinity values.123
However following the installation of the new membranes, salinity became a significant driver of
treatment costs.
For reverse osmosis systems, the cost of removing salts is governed by the laws of osmotic
pressure. I estimated reduced treatment costs associated with potential reductions in salinity in the
Llobregat River with the Reverse Osmosis System Analysis (ROSA) software (version 7.2.7), created by
Dow Chemical, the membrane manufacturer. ROSA allowed me to configure a desalination system with
the specification of AGBARs treatment plant in Sant Joan Desp (Appendix A). I ran ROSA with
different concentrations of TDS and observed how much energy was needed to maintain the same system
performance. As expected, higher concentrations of salt required more energy per cubic meter of water
produced (Fig 3.4). The output relationship is nearly linear, but is best fit by an exponential functional
form. When the feed water has higher salinity concentrations, marginal water quality improvements
produce more energy savings than the same marginal improvements in cleaner water. The Llobregat
123
The exception was when salinity values passed maximum permissible concentrations, in which case, surface
water treatment was stopped altogether. These high concentrations usually occurred when the brine collector that
transports mining effluents from the mines to the Mediterranean would rupture and release highly concentrated salt
water directly into the river.
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River has an average conductivity of 1500 S/cm. At this reference point, a reduction of 100 S/cm
R = 0.9969
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000
Conductivity (S/cm)
Figure 3.4. The relationship conductivity (S/cm) and specific energy efficiency (kWh/m3) for the LE-
440i reverse osmosis membranes produced by Dow Chemical. Y=0.315e0.00034x R2=0.9969
The installation of new membrane technologies produced similar changes to treatment costs at the
ATLL treatment plant. Lower salinity levels in the Llobregat River would allow ATLL to produce the
same quality drinking water with less electrical current running through the EDR modules. To quantify
the potential savings associated with salinity reductions I plotted observed conductivity values and energy
use (kWh/m3) at nine EDR modules operating in November 2010 and July 2010 (n=247). For every unit
increase in conductivity (S/cm) the treatment system consumed an additional 0.0002 kWh/m3 (Fig 3.5).
This implies that a reduction in conductivity of 100 S/cm is associated with an increase in energy use of
0.02 kWh/m3.
ATLL annually produces approximately 30 million cubic meters of drinking water with the EDR
system. The energy expenses associated with this production is approximately 939,600 per year with a
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mean energy expenditure of 0.348 kWh/m3 and an average energy cost of 0.09 /kWh. Under these
conditions, a reduction in conductivity by 100 S/cm would generate savings of 54,000 per year for the
Figure 3.5 The observed relationship between energy consumed (kWh/m3) and conductivity (S/cm) in
the feed water for the EDR water treatment system operated by ATLL. Y=0.0002x + 0.1481. R2 =
0.2586
The installation of the membrane technology has realigned economic incentives for both water
treatment facilities. With the new desalination systems, water treatment managers now have an incentive
to invest in ecosystem structures or functions that can protect the river from salt pollution. One approach
for reducing salinity concentrations is to restore the mountains of mine tailings with halophytic
vegetation. A restored ecosystem covering the salt mountains would help protect the water quality of the
Llobregat River by reducing the volume of water coming into contact with the salt deposits and filtering
into the groundwater. Restoring vegetation on these salt mountains would require specialized techniques,
since most plant life is anathema to salty soils. However plant biologists have studied halophyte species
which are tolerant to saltier soils and may be candidates for restoration (Adams et al. 1998, Bohnert and
Cushman 2000). Despite inhospitable soil conditions, we can see evidence that the salt deposits can be
restored with living vegetation. In the 1960s, environmental groups and the mining company collaborated
101.
to cover the abandoned Botjosa salt tailings with soil and seeds. The initial planting had difficulties, but
over time vegetation has survived and the results of this project remain visible today (Fig 3.6). The
Catalan Water Agency has also begun to cover one mine tailing at Vilafruns. The agency is covering the
salt mountains with impervious plastics, soils and vegetation in order to reduce the flow of water filtering
through the salt mountains and entering the Llobregat River through groundwater flows (ACA, 2009).
The water agency will be monitoring the project to assess if the restoration is effective at reducing salinity
Figure 3.6 A segment of the Botjosa mine tailing in Sallent with restored vegetation growing on top.
(Photo by Author. July 2008)
Based on the salinity-energy relationships presented above, we can estimate the benefits that such
restoration projects could produce for the water treatment managers downstream. For example, given
current conductivity of 1500 S/cm, a reduction in mean daily conductivity values in the Llobregat River
by 100 S/cm would generate ecosystem services worth 213,612 per year. A reduction of conductivity
by 500 S/cm would generate services worth 868,546 per year (Table 3.1).
102.
Table 3.1 Treatment costs savings associated with reductions in conductivity (S/cm) at both treatment
plants with their respective desalination technologies. Conductivity reductions depart from a baseline
value of 1,500 S/cm.
Mean daily
reductions in feed
water conductivity Reduced Treatment Reduced Treatment
(S/cm) Cost AGBAR Cost ATLL Total Savings per year
100 159,612 54,000 213,612
200 272,321 108,000 387,321
300 399,030 162,000 561,030
400 518,740 216,000 734,740
500 598,546 270,000 868,546
3.4.2.2 Temperature
Stream temperature is another water quality parameter inserted into the cost function following
the change in water treatment technology. Because trihalomethanes form more rapidly during warmer
months, stream temperature is particularly important for the ATLL facility. Water managers have
adopted a treatment protocol in which additional EDR modules are turned on as stream temperatures rise
in the spring and summer (ATLL, 2008). Every additional EDR module costs approximately 1,000 per
Stream temperature also controls critical ecosystem processes such as the metabolic rates of
aquatic species (Acua and Tockner, 2009). Warm temperatures also reduce the solubility of oxygen, and
low concentrations of dissolved oxygen make waters less hospitable to fish and invertebrates (Graczyk
and Sonzogni, 1991). Thermal heating is symptomatic of urbanized watersheds and disturbed river
systems (Webb et al., 2008). Stream temperatures can be moderated with the restoration of riparian forest
103.
Thermal Regulation
ATLLs water treatment protocols for the EDR system relies on stream temperature to guide
operation decisions. This choice created a link between the ecological condition of the Llobregat River
and operating costs at the treatment plant. In this case, the sensitivity of the EDR system to high
temperatures increased the value of thermal regulation services offered by riparian forests since the
temperature reductions provided by riparian habitat would allow managers to use less intensive treatment.
The restoration of additional riparian vegetation could further reduce the days in which EDR modules
operate (Chapter 4). Depending on the extent of the forest restoration, the restoration of riparian
vegetation could provide ecosystem services in the range of 57,000-156,000 per year (Chapter 4). This
specific value generated by the riparian forests would not exist in the absence of the EDR treatment.
Increasing stream discharge and restoring floodplains could have a similar cooling effect on stream
temperatures, and reduce treatment expenses for the ATLL facility. In a scenario that would increase
discharge by only 25%, the treatment plant benefitted from ecosystem services valued at 40,000 per
year. Similar to the circumstances found with salinity, the adoption of the EDR technology created a new
incentive for ATLL managers to explore ecosystem management practices that would restore ecological
3.4.2.3 Ammonium
The marginal value of nutrient cycling services may also increase following the installation of
new treatment technologies. The AGBAR-Sant Joan Desp water treatment facility is frequently forced to
halt treatment when the Llobregat River fails to meet minimum water quality standards (Lloret, 2004).
Ammonium concentrations are especially problematic because they often exceed the maximum
permissible values for treatable water. Between 2000 and 2010, high ammonium concentrations forced
104.
AGBAR to stop on 285 occasions (Fig 3.7). Stoppage events generate a penalty cost because they oblige
Figure 3.7 Ammonium concentrations at the AGBAR-SJD water treatment facility from 1-January-2000
to 31-December-2010. The line at 2.5 mg/L marks the treatment stoppage threshold. Total exceedance
days in 11 years: 286 (7.1%). (Data AGBAR-SJD)
Ammonium is released into the Llobregat River and its tributaries primarily by wastewater
treatment plants. The concentrations rise during wet weather events because of combined sewer
overflows that release untreated wastewater into the river. Ammonium concentrations are also high during
winter months when the colder temperatures slow down the bacterial nitrification of ammonia
(Mugeriego, 2006).
With the new membrane treatment technology, AGBAR has the ability to treat water with higher
ammonium concentrations. Thus, treatment managers have been studying the possibility of increasing the
stoppage threshold for ammonium. Currently the stoppage threshold is at 2.5 mg/L, but with the new
membrane system, it is feasible to continue water treatment at higher concentrations and thereby avoid
stoppage events. It thus appears that the new technology could substitute for ecosystem services that
Ecosystem processes play a critical role in determining the concentration of ammonium in the
Llobregat River. Nitrification occurs in the rivers soils or other surfaces where biofilms accumulate
(Butturini et al., 2000), and streams that are impaired have lower nitrification rates than rivers in good
ecological condition (Mart et al., 2004). Restoration measures such as recovering meanders, widening
flood plains, hyporheic restoration, or revegetation can increase instream nitrification rates (Admiraal and
Botermans, 1989; Butturini et al., 2000; Kaushal et al., 2008). In the case of the Llobregat, river
restoration measures would be particularly valuable because higher nitrification rates could also reduce
the number of days in which water treatment is stopped and penalty costs are assumed.
Under these new circumstances, the value of investing in nitrification services may increase or
decrease, depending on where the new threshold is located (Fig 3.8). Unexpectedly, once a new
technology has allowed water treatment managers to raise the stoppage threshold to a higher level, the
same investment in ecosystem services might be worth more with the technology than without. Take for
example, an ecosystem service that reduces ammonium concentrations by an average of 4% (Fig 3.8).
This same service has a higher marginal value if the new technology allowed the stoppage threshold to be
revised at around 2.8 mg/L than it would at lower threshold levels. In this case, improved nutrient cycling
would produce greater marginal benefits than that same investment would have produced under previous
conditions, before the new technology (Brozovic et al. in prep). This makes intuitive sense if one can
imagine the new (higher) stoppage treatment threshold being located just below a cluster of peak
ammonium values.
106.
Figure 3.8 The value of ecosystem services related to the nitrification of ammonium (z-axis) given
different stoppage threshold levels (x-axis) and different percent reductions in ammonium concentrations
(y-axis). Figure from (Brozovic et al. in prep)
3.5 Discussion
Urban environments provide new opportunities to discover and manage ecosystem services. The
engineered structures found in cities may generate more reliance on ecosystem processes, not less. In the
case of water treatment in Barcelona, the new membrane technology did not eliminate the demand for
ecosystem services associated with water purification. To the contrary, several ecosystem services that
regulated water quality became more valuable. Water treatment managers installed the new membrane
systems to allow for more continuous treatment across a wider range of input water qualities in essence,
protecting themselves from ecosystem variability and uncertainty. And yet unexpectedly, the new
107.
Considerable attention has been given to how technology can liberate society from the constraints
of the natural world. In water treatment, filtration systems reduced the value of watershed services
associated with soil and sediment retention, and chlorination reduced the value of natural processes that
eliminated infectious bacteria. These technological advancements have created unquestionable benefits
for society. However less attention has been directed at how ecosystem management may complement
Of course, technological change will not always increase the value of ecosystem services. Recall
the case from Gramercy, Louisiana, where the wetlands lost much of their value following the installation
of a wastewater treatment facility, or in California, where farmers might switch to genetically modified
varieties that eliminate the need for pollination services. As our technology changes, so too will the values
we assign to different ecosystem processes. In a more technologically advanced future, the bundle of
ecosystem services we use will transform as different technologies favor different sets of ecosystem
functions. Ecosystem values are not static. Rather they are a function of human preferences and our
This case also invites a more controversial claim: that technological change can create new
ecosystem services. In Barcelona I observed how new services were generated from existing ecosystem
structures and functions because of technological choice. Certainly, the ecosystem structures and
functions that protected water quality and reduced stream temperatures existed prior to the membrane
technology, but without the membrane technology, society did not benefit in the same way, nor were the
values of ecosystem services as connected to explicitly defined beneficiaries. While these ecosystem
structures and functions produced other valuable services (nutrient cycling, flood mitigation, recreation,
etc...) the specific services produced did not exist prior to the membrane treatment. In this case I focus on
use values, but there is no reason why this argument cannot be generalized to ecosystem services that
generate non-use values. For example, underwater exploration technologies may allow us to view and
108.
appreciate submerged life forms previously unknown or unseen, increasing their value to society. Even in
the context of non-use values, technology may increase the value of ecosystems and their services.
Barcelonas experience in water treatment suggests that ideas about ecosystem services remain
relevant in technologically advanced settings. Globally, over 1 billion people remain without clean
drinking water and approximately 2.3 billion live in water scarce regions (Service, 2006). If countries in
the developing world leap-frog to advanced water treatment systems to purify their contaminated sources,
the management of ecosystem services must be considered simultaneously as a viable option to improve
river ecology and reduce water treatment costs. Even in technologically sophisticated environments, an
ecosystem services approach can uncover new management options that may bring both environmental
This chapter has sought to underscore the potential of ecosystem management in urban and
technologically advanced contexts. The new system allowed water managers to improve drinking water
quality and increased water security. It is difficult to imagine ecosystems providing equivalent
improvements in quantity, quality and certainty in such a short period of time. However the water quality
improvements from the new technological systems also came with a considerable financial and
sustainable solution in the long run (Mehan, 2009). Instead, water managers would do well to explore
ecosystem alternatives regardless of their technological circumstances. The mere presence of modern
This chapter has shown that the installation of new technologies is not a barrier for the application
of ideas about ecosystem services. While technology change may obviate the need for some ecosystem
services, new technology will also generate a demand for new services or previously unvalued services.
The values ascribed to ecosystems will depend on the context and the technology that surrounds it.
Future technologies will rearrange the importance that managers will place on different environmental
parameters and services. The rise of new technologies will not reduce our reliance on ecosystem services,
109.
but rather ecosystems will benefit us in new and different ways. Regardless of the technological
environment the future may hold, investing in knowledge about ecosystem services will remain a wise
development strategy.
3.6 Acknowledgements
This research has received funding from the Centre Tecnolgic de lAigua (CETaqua) and the Agncia
Catalana de lAigua (ACA). I thank AGBAR and ATLL for providing water treatment data and Benoit
110.
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CHAPTER 4. MANAGING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO MEET STREAM
TEMPERATURE OBJECTIVES IN THE LLOBREGAT RIVER, SPAIN
Abstract
Ecosystem services have the potential to be incorporated into decision making more often if research
were to focus on the demand for these services rather than the supply. This demand-oriented approach
could catalyze changes in ecosystem management by directing more attention to the needs of resource
users. A demand-oriented approach also implies inverting the sequence in which the linkages between
environmental and economic systems are studied. Instead of tagging economic values to well known
biological processes, a demand approach first examines the economic, decision making and technological
context of the end-user. This chapter provides an example of how this research approach for ecosystems
services could unfold. In the Llobregat River in northeastern Spain, higher stream temperatures require
water treatment managers to switch on costly water treatment equipment during warm months. This
creates an opportunity to align the economic interests of downstream water users with the environmental
goals of river managers. A restored riparian forest or an increase in stream flow could reduce the need for
this expensive equipment by reducing stream temperatures below critical thresholds. I used the Stream
Network Temperature Model (SNTEMP) to test the impact of increasing shading and discharge on stream
temperature at the intake of the drinking water treatment plant. The value of the stream temperature
ecosystem services provided by existing forests is 79,000 per year, while the restoration of riparian
forests could generate economic savings for water treatment managers in the range of 57,000-156,000
per year, depending on the extent of the forest restoration. Stream restoration at higher elevations would
yield greater benefits than restoration in the lower reaches. Moderate increases in stream discharge (25%)
Keywords: Ecosystem services, stream temperature, SNTEMP, riparian restoration, drinking water
treatment
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4.1 Introduction
The extensive research on ecosystem services has not generated a commensurate transformation
in how ecosystems are managed in practice. If ideas about ecosystem services are to make a unique
contribution to environmental management, the discussion must move from theoretical frameworks to
practical applications (Cowling et al. 2008, Daily and Matson 2008, Daily et al. 2009, Muradian et al
2010). I argue that ideas about ecosystem services would be more widely adopted if researchers were to
focus on the demand for ecosystem services rather than their supply. This demand-oriented approach
implies inverting the sequence in which linkages between ecological and economic systems are frequently
studied. The approach would begin with the end users, their policy objectives, or decision making and
technological context. This starting point is more likely to uncover opportunities for the management of
At its core, the field of ecosystem services studies the linkages between economic and ecological
systems (MA 2005, NRC 2005). However this inquiry often begins with the ecological or biophysical
(Kremen and Ostfeld 2005, Chan et al. 2006, Naidoo et al. 2008). Researchers will frequently define the
ecological site of interest a protected area, a forest ecosystem, a watershed, or a river corridor and then
identify the range of services obtained from these areas, such as flood protection, recreational values or
spiritual values. Questions concerning economic valuation are left to the end, so by the time economists
commence the valuation exercise, the ecosystem scale and end-users have either been pre-determined or
are only vaguely identified as society. This sequence can lead to poorly targeted research, sub-optimal
management or controversial valuation estimates (Sangenberg and Settele 2010). In this chapter I
contend that ideas about ecosystem services would be more widely adopted if we studied the management
objectives that ecosystem services could help us achieve. However to do so, we must understand the
context in which decisions are made and how ecosystems may generate value. This decision making
context may then guide our inquiry, and help us identify services provided by ecosystem structures and
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functions. This demand-oriented approach directs our attention to the needs of resource users first, and
then seeks to show that the interests of resource users and managers may be aligned.
This chapter provides an example of how this research approach for ecosystem services could
unfold. Water users at the Aiges Ter-Llobregat (ATLL) water treatment facility in Abrera, Spain, treat
surface water from the Llobregat River to supply the Barcelona metropolitan region. Treatment managers
rely on stream temperature to guide major operation decisions. As stream temperatures rise in the spring
and summer, water managers progressively turn on electrodialysis reversal (EDR) treatment modules
(Valero and Arbs 2010). EDR modules must be added because warmer water accelerates the formation
of harmful disinfection by-products during the treatment process (Villanueva-Belmonte 2003, Sorlini and
Collivignarelli 2005, ATLL 2008). The additional EDR modules ensure that the output water quality will
comply with drinking water legislation during warmer months (ATLL 2008, Valero and Arbs 2010). As
a result of these treatment protocols, a reduction in stream temperatures would reduce the number of days
Direct solar radiation and air temperature are the primary determinants of stream temperature,
although the river also captures heat generated from friction with the stream bed, and long wave radiation
emitted by surrounding topography and vegetation. Streams are generally coolest at their headwaters and
then temperatures rise as water moves downstream, rapidly at first, and then more slowly at lower
elevations. Urbanization, deforestation and water withdrawals also contribute to thermal heating in
streams (Webb et al. 2008). In contrast, hypolimnetic water releases from dams usually cool streams.
River managers can alter stream temperature by restoring riparian forests that block direct thermal
interactions.
Thermal heating in rivers and streams can disrupt important ecological processes (Webb et al.
2008). Warmer waters may limit fish reproduction, accelerate ecological metabolism, and increase the
vulnerability of aquatic life to disease (Acua and Tockner 2009). Temperature also plays an important
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role in determining the availability of dissolved oxygen for freshwater organisms. Low levels of
dissolved oxygen during summer months are associated with major fish kills (Graczyk and Sonzogni
1991).
Modeling of stream temperature has been widely used to predict the potential effects of
management options (Bartholow 1991, Chen et al. 1998, Bartholow 2000 and 2000b; Watanabe et al.
2005). Aquatic ecologists originally developed stream temperature models to study habitat suitability for
fish, particularly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States where Federal and State agencies have
regulated maximum stream temperatures to protect endangered salmon (Caissie 2006, Webb et al. 2008).
Most stream temperature studies use deterministic models that calculate the total heat fluxes in the river
system. Others have used models based on regression techniques in which air temperature is the primary
input parameter; or stochastic modeling methods that separate annual temperature cycles from short-term
components (Caissie 2006). Temperature models that rely on calculations of the streams heat budget
allow model users to evaluate the effects of altered conditions affecting solar radiation.
Riparian forests moderate water temperatures by protecting the river from direct sunlight
(Bartholow 1989, Larson and Larson 1996, Bescheta 1997). Yet the precise impact of stream shading on
stream temperature varies with baseline conditions, vegetation height, latitude, and stream discharge.
These contextual differences make it difficult to compare shadings impact on stream temperature even
Nevertheless, a few examples are illustrative. In the Cache la Poudre River, Colorado it has been
estimated that the doubling of shading from 13% to 23% would reduce maximum temperatures in the
summer by approximately 1.25C over a 32 km reach (0.04C/km) (Bartholow 1991). In contrast Seedang
et al (2008) estimated that shading decreased maximum temperatures by less than 1C (0.01C/km) in a
92 km reach in the upper main stem of the Willamette River, Oregon. The authors hypothesize that the
voluminous discharge and wide stream width prevented shading from altering stream temperature.
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Increasing stream discharge is another management option that may mitigate thermal heating.
Again in the Cache la Poudre River, Colorado, it was estimated that increasing discharge by 3 m3/s
(300%) would allow the reach to comply with temperature requirements year round (Bartholow 1991). In
contrast, Seedang et al (2008) found increasing discharge in the upper main stem of the Willamette River
In this study I used a deterministic stream temperature model to explore how ecosystem services
associated with river shading and discharge might reduce stream temperatures at the intake of a drinking
water facility in Abrera, Spain. This allowed me to avoid measuring all ecosystem services provided by
the Llobregat River, such as nutrient cycling, water provision, or flood protection etc, and instead target
those services for which there is a known demand from specific water users.
Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 4.1). The upper segments of the Llobregat watershed receive
1000 mm of precipitation per year while the mid section of the watershed is considerably drier with only
400 mm per year (Mujeriego 2006). The Llobregat River has an annual discharge of 660 hm3 although its
flow regime is highly variable. The Llobregat has one major tributary, the Cardener River, which is
The Llobregat River provides the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (pop. 3.5 million) with 45% of
its drinking water supply (Mujeriego 2006). Approximately one quarter of the regions water is treated at
the ATLL treatment facility in Abrera (max. capacity = 4 m3/s). The average flow at the ATLL facility is
8 m3/s. Two major dams hold back the Llobregat and the Cardener Rivers before they leave the Pyrenees
Mountains. The size of the hypolimnetic releases from the dams is negotiated periodically between the
hydroelectric dam operators, water suppliers and the regional water agency of Catalonia (ACA).
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The study reach consists of 57.6 km between the stream gage at Balsareny, downstream of the
lowermost dam, and the ATLL water treatment facility in Abrera. The entire river network could not be
modeled because of the presence of the dams. The Llobregat River travels 27.8 km between Balsareny
and the confluence with the Cardener. The river then travels another 29.8 km to the ATLL water
treatment facility, located 29.0 km upstream from the rivers mouth in the Mediterranean.
Figure 4.1 The study reach is 57.6 km between the town of Balsareny and the ATLL drinking water
treatment facility in Abrera. Meteorological data was collected from a weather station at Pont de
Vilomara.
4.3 Methods
SNTEMP Model
The Stream Network Temperature Model (SNTEMP) is a one-dimensional heat transport model
for stream networks that predicts mean daily water temperatures based on heat flux equations (Theurer et
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al. 1984, Bartholow 2000). The mechanistic model was originally developed by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Theurer et al. 1984) and is now distributed by the United States Geological Survey
(USGS). USGS has generated training materials for SNTEMP which has facilitated its widespread use
(Hendrick and Monahan 2003; Norton and Bradford 2009). SNTEMP is a well characterized and tested
model that can evaluate changes in both stream shading and discharge, with only moderate data
requirements. The model calculates the heat gained or lost from a parcel of water as it passes through the
various nodes in a stream network (Appendix E). The model simulates heat flux processes of convection,
conduction, evaporation, direct solar radiation (short wave), atmospheric radiation, radiation from riparian
vegetation (long wave), and back radiation released by the water (Bartholow 2000) (Appendix F). The
model requires data on stream hydrology, stream geometry, meteorology and shading conditions (Table
4.1) (Appendix G). Given these inputs, the model predicts the stream temperature at the end of the
segment (Appendix H). The stream network model was constructed using 22 nodes, each of which marks
either a change in stream temperature, discharge, geographic or shading conditions or thermal mixing
station located at the center of the stream segment (km 37) in the town of el Pont de Vilomara (406310,
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4617994 UTM) (Fig 4.1). Hydrologic and stream temperature data were obtained from the Catalan Water
Agency (ACA). A complete data set for all nodes was available for the 2009 calendar year.
Figure 4.2 A schematic representation of the modeled stream network between Balsareny and the ATLL
drinking water treatment facility in Abrera, Spain. Data on stream discharge is required for Headwaters
(H), Discharge Verification (Q), Point Discharges (P), and End (E) nodes. Temperature data is input at
Headwaters (H), Tributaries (T), Branch (B), and Point Discharges (P) nodes.
I measured vegetative and topographic shade on 8 and 9 May 2011 following the field work
guidelines outlined in Bartholow (1989) (Appendix I). I verified the location of stream gages, diversions,
returns and point sources, and identified sites where the properties of the stream changed (C nodes). I
also evaluated if the restoration of riparian forests was viable given current soil quality or topographic
conditions. I annotated the location of sites where extreme slopes (cliffs), or the absence of soils (large
stones and boulders) would make any proposal to reforest unrealistic. Forest coverage estimates
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collected in the field were compared with satellite imagery available from Google Earth. In stream
segments where field measurements were not taken I relied on satellite imagery.
Shading Scenarios
I divided the Llobregat into multiple segments according to topographic and forest conditions. I
defined a stream segment as restorable if it had less than 30% forest cover along its bank and did not
have an obvious impediment to forest restoration such as poor soil quality, or steep topography.
I tested five shading scenarios. The first three scenarios increased shade only in the subset of
river segments defined as restorable (<30% cover and favorable soil quality and topography). Shading
was increased from its existing condition (<30%) to 40%, 60% and 80% forest cover. The next shading
scenario increased shade for the entire stream segment to 100% coverage. This scenario serves as an
upper boundary estimate of shadings potential impact. In the final scenario, I removed all existing
riparian forest to estimate the contribution of current shade in moderating stream temperatures.
Discharge Scenarios
I tested five discharge scenarios that increased stream flow by 5%, 25%, 50%, and 100% of
historic monthly means. Monthly mean discharge values were computed from a historic data set of six
years (2004-2009).
Model Calibration
parameters built into the model and following recommended procedures (Bartholow 1991). In this case I
only adjusted the coefficient for air temperature across seasons. During winter months, from November to
February, the air temperature calibration coefficient was 0.25. During the peak summer months of June to
September it was 0.9. In the remaining months the air temperature calibration coefficient was 0.5
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(Appendix J). It was important to ensure that the models predictions approximated observed outcomes.
Although for my purposes, it was even more important that the model help me accurately estimate the
Managers at the ATLL treatment plant begin to add EDR modules in March of each year when
stream temperatures surpass 12C. At peak summer temperatures all nine EDR modules are in operation.
Since one EDR module is in operation year round, there are eight additional modules that may be added
in warm months. This generates eight temperature thresholds in which the costly EDR treatment modules
are added. Although the precise protocol for adding EDR modules has not been formalized by ATLL, a
linear relation to temperature provides a reasonable decision rule (personal communication, Valero 2010).
In this study, I assume an EDR module is added for every 2C rise in temperature beyond 12C (14, 16,
18, etc...). Each module consumes approximately 12,000 kWh per day for a cost of 1,000/day (personal
communication, Barcel 2010). Value is generated when ecosystem processes delay the exceedance of
one of the eight critical temperature thresholds by at least one day and therefore allow water treatment
I collected information on riparian restoration projects in order to estimate the costs associated
with the increasing stream shade along the Llobregat Rivers and conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the
restoration projects over a 20 year period. ACA has financed projects that remove invasive species of
cane (Arundo donax) and replaced them with native species of Willow (Salix alba), Ash (Fraxinus
agustifolia) and Poplar (Populus Alba). These projects were executed along the Llobregat and Cardener
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Rivers, and therefore offer a useful precedent to help gage future restoration costs (Consell Comarcal del
Bages and Phragmites SL 2010 and 2011). Given the initial investment, I calculated the net present value
of the project over a 20 year period with a discount rate of 4%. Since we cannot expect that the full
benefits associated with shading will materialize until the trees reach maturity, I estimated annual savings
that were proportional to the growth rate of riparian trees (Wanatabe et al 2005).
Robustness Tests
While the SNTEMP model has already been validated (Bartholow 1991, Bartholow 2000), the
model does not provide users with estimates of uncertainty or error. Therefore I tested the robustness of
measurement error (relative humidity, stream width, stream height). In the stream shading scenarios, I
modified relative humidity (+/- 10%), stream width (+/- 20%), vegetation height (+/- 25%) and tested
Mannings N at 0.045 and 0.025. For the stream discharge scenarios, I re-calculated the results with
changes in relative humidity (+/- 10%), stream width (+/- 20%) and vegetation height (+/- 25%). The
percent +/- variation was chosen to be conservative, or approximate the maximum potential deviance, and
therefore serve as an upper and lower boundary of expected error. To test each parameter I ran the model
20 times, testing for variation by a given percentage under two new baseline scenarios (+/-), and then
running every vegetation and discharge scenario separately (9 scenarios total, each run twice +/-) and
comparing the new results to the respective baseline scenarios (2). I also tested for robustness to
4.4 Results
SNTEMP produced satisfactory water temperature predictions during the spring, summer and fall
of 2009 (R2=0.93, N=255, Pearson correlation=0.94) (Fig 4.3). The calibrated model predicted stream
temperatures with a mean error of 0.53C, overestimating observed temperature. Forty percent of the
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models predictions fell within 1C of the observed value. The maximum error was 4.6C. To remove the
effects of this systematic overestimate in my valuation of ecosystem services, I regressed modeled versus
Figure 4.3 Observed and predicted temperature values for the Llobregat River during the warmer months
of 2009 in which EDR modules are in operation at the drinking water facility.
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Figure 4.4 Observed and modeled temperatures for all dates in 2009. EDR water treatment modules are
only used when temperatures surpass 12C. At these warmer temperatures the SNTEMP model better
predicts observed temperature. (R2=0.933) T= 0.8068(observed temp) + 4.335. The bold line marks the
1:1 relationship.
When testing the sensitivity of temperature predictions to changes in humidity, stream width, and
vegetation height, mean annual temperature values changed modestly, and always within 1C. As
expected, the predicted values were always bounded within the higher and lower estimates (+/-) (Fig 4.5
& 4.6). For both the vegetation and discharge scenarios, temperature results were most sensitive to
changes in humidity.
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Figure 4.5 The sensitivity of temperature estimates (mean annual) in the different vegetation scenarios
when looking at changes in humidity (+/- 10%), stream width (+/-20%) and vegetation height (+/-20%).
In all cases, the results were bracketed by the higher and lower estimates. The variation was always
slightly below 1C.
128.
Figure 4.6 The sensitivity of temperature estimates in the different discharge scenarios when looking at
changes in humidity (+/- 10%), stream width (+/-20%) and vegetation height (+/-20%).
An increase in shade over the Llobregat River showed reduced temperatures throughout the
stream segment, while the scenario in which all vegetation was removed increased water temperature.
Shade produced a stronger effect in warmer months (Fig 4.7). The most modest shading scenario
(restorable areas to 40%) reduced mean annual stream temperature at the intake of the ATLL water
treatment facility by 0.34C (0.006C/km), while a simulated forest coverage of 100% on all segments
showed a mean annual reduction of 1.84 C (0.03C/km) (Appendix K). The removal of existing riparian
vegetation increased stream temperature at the ATLL treatment plant by over 0.5C between May and
October.
Increasing stream discharge also reduced stream temperature. A 5% increase in discharge had a
very small effect on stream temperature (mean reduction = 0.048C), whereas a 25% increase in
discharge reduced temperature 0.2C during warm months (Fig 4.8). An increase in discharge by 50%
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reduced stream temperatures by 0.4C during warm months. The doubling of discharge (100%) had a
greater effect in the spring and fall, when stream discharge is largest. I hypothesize that the doubling of
discharge in the summer made little difference because the summer base flows are already small.
Figure 4.7 Mean monthly temperature changes simulated by SNTEMP in the five shading scenarios: (1)
existing vegetation coverage removed, (2) riparian forest in restorable areas increased to 40% coverage,
(3) riparian forest in restorable areas increased to 60% coverage, (4) riparian forest in restorable areas
increased to 80% coverage, (5) 100% coverage in the entire stream reach.
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Figure 4.8 Mean monthly temperature changes simulated by SNTEMP in the four discharge scenarios:
(1) increasing discharge 5% of monthly mean, (2) 25% of monthly mean, (3) 50% of monthly mean, and
(4) 100% of monthly mean.
critical temperature thresholds, and therefore save water managers from adding EDR modules on
particular days. Each day in which water managers avoid adding an additional EDR module would save
them 1000. The temperature profile on a particular day allows us to visualize the induced changes in
stream temperature projected by each management scenario. For example, on 26 August 2009, one of the
warmest days of the year, the stream temperature rose rapidly in the first half of this segment and then
more gradually between Castellbell (km 24) and the ATLL treatment plant (Fig 4.9). On this day modest
changes in riparian shading and discharge were insufficient to maintain stream temperatures below the
critical threshold of 26C. Only the most aggressive measures, such as the doubling of discharge or
restoring 100% coverage would have kept temperatures below the critical threshold. In contrast,
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removing existing vegetation would have increased stream temperature to 27.72C at the intake of the
26
18
16
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Distance upstream (Km)
Figure 4.9 The temperature profiles under different simulated management scenarios on 26 August 2009.
The horizontal lines represent temperature thresholds. On this day, the waters of the Cardener River had a
slight cooling effect that can be appreciated by a dip in stream temperature at the river confluence (km
29).
On other days, modest management actions were sufficient to prevent the stream temperature from
exceeding critical thresholds. For example on 25 May 2009 increasing forest cover to 40% in restorable
areas would have reduced stream temperature by 0.45C and maintained stream temperature below the
20C threshold at the end of the segment (Fig 4.10). For this date, then, water managers would have
operated without an additional EDR module, saving them 1000 in this management scenario.
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Llobregat River Temperature Profile
25 May 2009
22
21
20
18 No Coverage
Baseline
17 Restorable to 40%
50% Discharge
16
100% Coverage
15
14
13
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Distance Upstream (km)
Figure 4.10 The temperature profiles under different simulated management scenarios on 25 May 2009.
The dashed lines represent the temperature thresholds. The horizontal lines represent temperature
thresholds.
In both longitudinal profiles, temperatures rose faster in the first half of the stream segment,
between the stream headwaters and the confluence with the Cardener (29.8 km). This rapid thermal
heating in the upper parts of the watershed has been documented elsewhere in the literature (Chan et al.
1998).
As expected, large increases in shade and discharge are predicted to prevent more threshold
crossings (Fig 4.11 and 4.12). The shading scenarios would prevent between 57 and 283 threshold
crossings, while the discharge scenarios would prevent between 7 and 120 threshold crossings.
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Figure 4.11 Avoided threshold crossings associated with riparian restoration scenarios measured in days.
Positive values are days in which the water treatment plant could avoid operating an additional EDR
module. Negative values are days in which the treatment plant would need to operate an additional EDR
module, which is only the case in the scenario when existing revegetation is hypothetically removed.
Figure 4.12 Avoided temperature threshold crossings, measured in days, associated with a percent
increase in stream discharge: 5%, 25%, 50%, and 100%.
134.
Ecosystem services associated with stream shading
By adding the number of days in which threshold crossings are prevented, the five shading
scenarios could generate savings in the range of 57,000 to 283,000 per year (Fig 4.13). Our model also
allowed us to quantify the value of the services provided by the existing vegetation, which is estimated by
the scenario in which vegetation is removed. Removing the existing vegetation would require treatment
managers to switch on EDR modules an additional 79 days during the year, for an annual cost of 79,000.
Figure 4.13 Value of ecosystem service for the ATLL water treatment plant of various riparian
restoration options.
preventing threshold crossings on only 7 days for a savings of 7,000 annually. In contrast a 25%
increase in discharge would prevent 40 threshold crossings per year, saving the drinking water facility
40,000 annually. Increasing discharge by 50% would prevent threshold crossings on 75 days, saving
water treatment managers 75,000 annually, while the doubling of discharge (100%) would prevent
threshold crossings on 120 days, saving water treatment managers 120,000 annually (Fig 4.14).
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Figure 4.14 Value of ecosystem service for the ATLL water treatment plant for increases in stream
discharge (% of monthy mean).
I also found that the value of the ecosystem services were highly robust to changes in modeling
assumptions or possible measurement error (Fig 4.15 and Fig 4.16). The significant changes in estimated
or measured parameters show relatively modest changes in the results of the economic valuation. The
sign and direction of the values remained similar in all the scenarios tested. However unlike the
sensitivity tests on temperature values (Fig 4.5 and 4.6), the economic valuation estimates were not
evenly bounded because economic value was only generated when thresholds were crossed.
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Figure 4.15 The upper and lower boundary results in the vegetative scenarios when testing for possible
error in relative humidity (+/-10%), , stream width (+/- 20%), vegetation height (+/-25%), and Mannings
N (0.0025 & 0.0035).
Figure 4.16 The upper and lower boundary results in the discharge scenarios when testing for possible
error in relative humidity (+/-10%), stream width (+/-20%) and vegetation height (+/-25%).
137.
I also tested if the results were sensitive to model calibration (Fig 4.17). The uncalibrated model
showed values very similar to the final results. The insensitivity of the results to model calibration is
explained by how the economic values are calculated. Value is created for water treatment managers
when thresholds are crossed, therefore even temperature models that over- or under-estimates temperature
values (uncalibrated) will still predict temperature reductions, and therefore threshold crossings. The
similarity of the results between the calibrated and uncalibrated models gives me considerable confidence
Figure 4.17 Comparison of results between the calibrated and uncalibrated models.
Finally, I tested if the results were sensitive to the placement of thresholds at particular
temperature values. Recall that the temperature thresholds for adding an additional EDR model were
uniformily distributed every 2C after 12C (12C, 14C, 16C, 18C, 20C, 22C, 24C, 26C). I tested
how the results might change if these thresholds were 1C lower (11C, 13C, 15C, 17C, 19C, 21C,
23C, 25C) as well as thresholds that were randomly generated (12.8C, 13.9C, 15.7C, 18.6C, 21.8C,
22.4C, 23.7C, 24.7C). The results are not hugely sensitive to these changes (Fig 4.18), suggesting that
138.
even if water managers modify the temperature thresholds for turning on EDR modules, the value of the
Figure 4.18 The results were largely insensitive to the placement of the EDR thresholds. When reducing
the thresholds uniformly by 1C, the results changed only slightly. Nor did the results change
substantially when the temperature thresholds were selected randomly.
Past restoration projects along the Llobregat and Cardener Rivers suggest that restoration costs
are approximately 120,300 per kilometer (both sides), or 6.02/m2. At this rate, the restoration cost for
each scenario is 1,082,700; 1,624,050; 2,165,400 and 3,464,640 respectively. These upfront
investment costs would be partially recovered through savings in reduced water treatment costs. In each
of the restoration scenarios, at least one third of the initial investment is recovered within a 20 year period
(Table 4.2). The most ambitious restoration scenario recovered up to 46% of the investment. Each of
these projects would have a positive net benefit in 20 years if restoration costs could be lowered to
139.
Table 4.2 Summary of restoration costs and % investment recovered after 20 years.
Increases in Discharge
Dam releases in two reservoirs (Sant Pon and Baells) in the Llobregat watershed could increase
water flow at a low cost. Moreover, in contrast to riparian restoration, the reductions in stream
temperature associated with dam releases would materialize immediately. The critical tradeoff is the loss
of water storage. When water supplies are low, the dam releases may not be a viable option. But if
temperatures are rising and water supplies are abundant, dam releases may be an effective measure to
4.5 Discussion
The existing stream vegetation along the Llobregat River already provides valuable ecosystem
services for the ATLL water treatment plant, and by extension, for the residents of Barcelona, by
maintaining the Llobregat River cool and avoiding the use of EDR modules on approximately 79 days per
year, saving 79,000 per year in water treatment costs. Restoring the Llobregat River with more riparian
The least ambitious shading option would generate services worth 57,000 per year, while the
most ambitious scenario, the restoration of vegetation along the entire stream segment (100% coverage),
could save water managers 283,000 per year. This last scenario serves as an upper boundary estimate
140.
and also shows that ecosystem processes have the potential to generate substantial value for downstream
users.
Increases in stream discharge also have the potential to generate additional savings for water
treatment managers. The timing of discharge increases is particularly important (Fig 4.8). Greater flows
are most likely to reduce stream temperature the months of March, April, May, August, September and
October.
These results have implications for water managers in Catalonia as they seek to comply with the
Water Framework Directive (WFD) that requires that all water bodies obtain good ecological status
(Directive 2000). In an effort to comply with the WFD, the Catalan Water Agency has drafted a plan of
measures, published in 2010, that budgeted 8.67 million for riparian restoration along the Llobregat
River (ACA 2010). This research shows that some of these costs can be recovered. This is useful
information as policy makers must decide which measures to execute and which measures might be
postponed because of their financial cost. Recall that governments may be excempt from the European
Unions requirement to restore water bodies to good ecological status if they can justify that the costs
associated with ecological restoration are disproportionately large. However these economic assessments
frequently only focus on the costs of the restoration measure and not the associated environmental and
economic benefits, as presented here. Therefore this research helps quantify some of the benefits
associated with ACAs program of measures. At the same time, the WFD seeks to invert our economic
logic by putting the objective of good ecological status at the center of policymaking. Following this
logic, the restoration benefits quantified in this paper are in addition to our policy objective of good
The model does not include the inputs from all waste water treatment plants along this river
segment. However when two waste water treatment plants were included in the lower reach they had a
negligible impact on downstream temperature. The model also does not consider the effect of successive
river impoundments which hold back the water on its journey between Balsareny and Abrera.
141.
The longitudinal profiles suggest that the location of riparian shading matters. In this case, the
increased shading between Balsareny and Castellbell would be especially important since the river gains
the most heat in this segment. As a result, it is here where management is likely to have the most impact
(Appendix L). Other watersheds have also shown a pattern of streams heating up faster in the upper parts
None of the restoration scenarios could offer projects with a positive net present value after 20
years because of the high initial investment and low initial returns that do not become more substantial
until the trees reach full maturity. If the restoration projects were to plant older trees they would provide
more benefits earlier, and the projects would have higher returns.
Increasing stream flow through strategic dam releases would allow water managers to realize
benefits within a shorter time frame. These releases would need to be negotiated with the Catalan Water
Agency and the electrical company that captures energy from the hydroelectric dams. The institutional
structures already exist to allow this negotiation to develop. Additional releases would be most realistic
when reservoirs are near full capacity and air temperatures are rising rapidly. For example, if reservoirs
were full in late May due to spring rains, and temperatures were to rise abruptly, the additional discharge
could help maintain cooler stream temperatures, and prevent the ATLL treatment plant from turning on
This chapter has applied a deterministic model of biophysical processes to simulate alternative
management options in the watershed. And yet the biophysical model alone could not have generated the
reliable valuation estimates of the ecosystem services related to stream temperature. The technological
and decision making conditions downstream dictated the terms under which valuation estimates could be
made. This implies that different technologies or alternative management protocols would alter the value
associated with ecosystem services that moderate stream temperature. From the perspective of the water
treatment managers, the ecosystem service was created by the new technology and the treatment protocol
treatment managers meet specific water quality targets. Focusing on how ecosystem services could
contribute to meeting policy objectives allowed me to avoid thorny questions concerning non-use
valuation. Of course, streams provide both use and non-use values. However, non-use values can be
difficult to quantify. And even when these controversial methods are accepted, there are still concerns that
valuation exercises are inappropriate or misguided (Venkatachalam 2004, McCauley 2006, Gmez-
Baggethun et al. 2010, Kosoy and Corbera 2010, Sangenberg and Settele 2010). To avoid some of these
controversial issues associated with non-use valuation, in this chapter I did not seek to value the
ecosystem structures in their entirety (use and non-use), but merely quantified the use-values generated
for a specific downstream users. Thus the results presented here offer a lower boundary estimate of the
Managing ecosystem services in order to meet specific objectives has several advantages. It
simplifies the valuation process, engages decision makers, and facilitates the implementation of ideas
about ecosystem services in practice. This approach may not be viable for all ecosystem services studied,
especially when non-use values are involved. However it does highlight that new opportunities to
manage and restore ecosystem services may arise if we scrutinize the decision making context of those
who depend on natures services. By focusing on the end users, we will be more likely to harness the
143.
4.6 Acknowledgements
This research has been funded by the Water Technology Center (CETaqua) and the Catalan Water
Agency (ACA) in a collaborative agreement with the Catalan Water Research Institute (ICRA), Aiges-
Ter Llobregat (ATLL) and Aiges de Barcelona (AGBAR). Results were obtained with data from the
Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat), Aiges Ter Llobregat (ATLL), and ACA. ACA also
provided the HEC-RAS model to calculate the width A and B constants, with valuable assistance from
Rosana Aguilera at ICRA and Ramn Batalla from the University of Lleida. I thank Maria Jou from
Mina-Sorea for providing data on discharge and temperature from the wastewater treatment plants. John
Risley and John Bartholow from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) provided valuable
assistance developing the Stream Network Model. I thank Francesc Solana for meteorological data used
to produce preliminary results for Stream Segment Model. ric Esclassans and Hctor Oliva loaned me
144.
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APPENDICES
Appendix A. Osmotic Pressure, Total Dissolved Solids, & Energy Efficiency at AGBAR
Appendix E. Heat Fluxes Modeled in the Stream Network Temperature Model (SNTEMP)
148.
Appendix A. Osmotic Pressure, Total Dissolved Solids, & Energy Efficiency at
AGBAR
AGBAR spends between 1.8 and 2.2 million per year on energy to desalinate water from the Llobregat
River with reverse osmosis technology. This estimate only covers energy expenses associated with the
reverse osmosis membranes and excludes other energy use associated with ultrafiltration or water
elevation. Given these high energy expenses, a reduction in salinity concentrations in the Llobregat River
could generate considerable financial savings. In the main text I calculated these savings using the
Reverse Osmosis System Analysis (ROSA) software distributed by Dow Chemical.
Underlying these calculations are the physical laws that govern osmotic pressure. To remove dissolved
solids from a solution, the reverse osmosis process must apply a pressure that surpasses the osmotic
pressure (Elimelech and Phillip 2011). A higher concentration of the solute will increase the osmotic
pressure and therefore increase the energy needed to desalinate. Osmotic pressure () is a function of the
molar concentration of total dissolved solids (c), the gas constant (R), and temperature (T) (Equation 1).
Where:
c = the molar concentration of the solute;
R= the gas constant 0.082 (literbar)/(degmol);
T= temperature (Kelvin)
Higher concentrations of dissolved solids need more osmotic pressure for the same output water quality
(Elimelech and Phillip 2011). However it difficult to calculate the energy TDS-energy efficiency
relationship directly because RO systems have three phases, and the pressure that must be applied must
surpass the osmotic pressure in all three desalination phases. With three phases and seven membranes in
each phase, one molecule of water will have gone through 21 membranes before it exits the system. At
each phase, the rejected water that does not pass the membrane begins to accumulate salts. Hence the
minimum pressure needing application in each membrane increases as dissolved solids accumulate.
AGBAR treats approximately 44 million m3 of water per year at the Sant Joan Desp water treatment
facility. According to a water characterization of the Llobregat River by the treatment plant, the mean
concentration of total dissolved solids in the Llobregat is 1,397 mg/L (Table A.1). Another source from
the AGBAR treatment facility reports a similar, although slightly lower mean level of total dissolved
solids at 1,150 mg/L (Pedraz-Yaez 2007). However when one calculates the TDS from the mean
conductivity value (1500 uS/cm) of the Llobregat River with a conversion factor of 0.7 uS/cm per mg/L
TDS, the then TDS value is much higher at 2,140 mg/L.
149.
Ions mg/L
Ammonium (NH4) 0.15
Potassium (K) 31.40
Sodium (Na) 216.90
Magnesium (Mg) 50.80
Calcium (Ca) 162.30
Strontium (Sr) 2.00
Barium (Ba) 0.05
Carbonate (CO3) 1.55
Bicarbonate (HCO3) 370.00
Nitrate (NO3) 11.50
Chloride (Cl) 402.00
Flouride (F) 0.172
Sulfate (SO4) 292.00
Silica (Si02) 8.78
Boron 0.233
ROSA is a computer assisted tool for designing and operating reverse osmosis and nanofiltration systems
(Fig A.1). The software was created to assist water treatment managers operate the desalination systems
provided by the Dow Chemical Company (Dow Chemical 2011).
150.
Figure A.1 Configuration of the AGBAR reverse osmosis system in ROSA.
As described in the Main Text, I ran ROSA with different feed water qualities and then observed the
associated reduction in energy efficiency (kWh/m). I used a conversion factor of 0.7 to transform values
reported in ROSA in Total Dissolved Solids to conductivity. The results of these simulations are
presented in the table below. As presented in the Main Text, we observe an exponential relationship
between TDS values and specific energy efficiency (kWh/m3) with the expression Y=0.315e0.00034x
151.
Savings Savings
per per
reduction reduction
Average in 100 in 100
Net mg/L mg/L TDS
Driving Specific Total TDS [Trendline]
Conductivity Pressure Power Energy Total Energy Energy [Model
TDS (S/cm) (bar) (kW) (kWh/m) (kWh) Expense () Values]
AGBAR reports that they desalinate approximately 44,336,712 m3 per year and consume nearly 24 GWh
to sustain this desalination. They pay approximately 0.09/kWh for a total expense of approximately 2
million per year only for energy expenses in the reverse osmosis system.
The theoretical minimum amount of energy needed to remove salts from sea water is 1.8 kWh/m3. As of
yet, no technology has been able to reach this theoretical minimum, although new systems are starting to
reach values below 2 kWh/m3 (Elimelech and Phillip 2011).
152.
Appendix B. Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR), Conductivity, & Energy Efficiency
at ATLL
The calculations in the Main Text pertaining to energy use and conductivity at the ATLL facility are
made with observed data. The technological specifications of the EDR system provided by the vendor
(AWWA 1995) also show that lower conductivity in the feed water would reduce energy demand (Table
B.1). Using these values from General Electric, a improvement in feed water quality from <1500 S/cm
to <1000 S/cm would increase energy efficiency from 0.68 kWh/m3 to 0.52 kWh/m3. Maintaining
production volume and energy costs constant, this would imply a reduced expenditure of 425,288 per
year.
Table B.1 Energy consumption (kWh/m3) at ATLL Treatment Facility at different levels of conductivity.
Source
<1000 S/cm <1500 S/cm <2000 S/cm <2500 S/cm
0.52 0.68 0.87 1.02
153.
Appendix C. Heat Fluxes Modeled in the Stream Network Temperature Model
(SNTEMP)
Figure C.1 Heat fluxes in a stream ecosystem. Reproduced from Bartholow (2000)
154.
Appendix D. Stream Network Model Execution
Model Input Files
The Network Model operates with seven input files and a job control file.
(1) Stream Geometry File KVRFSTR.DAT
(2) Time Period File KVRFTME.DAT
(3) Meteorology File KVRFMET.DAT
(4) Study Node File KVRFSTD.DAT
(5) Hydrology Node File KVRFHDR.DAT
(6) Hydrology Data File KVRFHYD.DAT
(7) Shade File KVRFSHD.DAT
(8) Job Control File KVRFJOB.DAT
Run Command
The model runs with the DOS command SNTEMP. The program will then request the Job Control file:
KVRFJOB.DAT, and the user is asked if any modifications are desired in the Job Control. Modifications
may include the alteration of calibration coefficients or changing the period in which outputs are
requested. If no modifications are made, the Network Model will run through the seven sub-programs:
STRGEM or Stream Geometry, which updates elevations, latitudes and slopes for each node; HYDROL
or Hydrology, which computes missing flows and adds lateral temperatures; METROL or meteorology,
which computes time specific meteorology; REGTWO, which fills in missing temperature values using a
regression model; TRNSPT, which computes water temperatures using physical processes, and VSTATS,
which computes validation statistics (not applicable because no Validation or Calibration nodes used).
Model Output
The model produces eleven output tables. The temperature predictions are in table VIII located in the
output file KVRTRNS.DAT. Users cannot control the names of the output files.
Troubleshooting Issues
SNTEMP would not run unless the input files were formatted precisely. Therefore several issues arose
that prevented the model from running to completion.
(1) Time Period. The model would not run unless each time period (one year) had exactly the same
number of days. This prevented me from using data in 2010 data because I only had data through
November 2010. My period of analysis was revised to 1-January-2004 to 31-December-2009
(later it was reduced further with the need to incorporate the Cardener River for which only data
in 2009 was available). Furthermore, all years needed to have exactly 365 days. The 29th of
February in 2004 and 2008 were eliminated even though data was available.
(2) Regression Program. The regression program that fills in missing temperature values did not run
successfully, and produced a Run Time Error M6201: MATH, which implied that a negative
square root was found in the computations. This was resolved by filling all missing temperature
values with average values from the day prior and after.
155.
Table D.1 Network nodes for the Llobregat Temperature Model
Distance
ID River Node (m) Name Elevation Function UTM_X UTM_Y
1 Llobregat H 57,612 Headwaters Balsareny 285 Headwaters 407107 4633667
2 Llobregat C 49,080 Soler Vicen 175 Change Stream Geometry 409434 4626515
3 Llobregat B 29,810 Llobregat Branch 165 Branch 404459 4615146
4 Cardener H 32,000 Castellgal (Cardener H) 175 Headwaters 403929 4616981
5 Cardener T 29,810 Tributary Cardener 165 Tributary 404459 4615146
6 Llobregat J 29,810 Juncture Cardener 165 Juncture 404459 4615146
7 Llobregat Q 23,932 Castellbell 148 Discharge 405776 4610500
8 Llobregat C 23,010 Bures 141 Change Stream Geometry 404926 4610700
9 Llobregat C 21,752 Borras 141 Change Stream Geometry 404411 4609660
10 Llobregat C 20,462 La Bauma Desviacio 132 Change Stream Geometry 405562 4609180
11 Llobregat C 19,641 La Bauma 127 Change Stream Geometry 405443 4608670
12 Llobregat P 19,547 Castellbell i Vilar WWTP 127 Point Discharge 405366 4608730
13 Llobregat C 18,919 C58 125 Change Stream Geometry 404801 4608890
14 Llobregat C 17,805 Puig i Font 126 Change Stream Geometry 404388 4607880
15 Llobregat C 16,879 Monistrol 119 Change Stream Geometry 403990 4607380
16 Llobregat P 15,054 Monistrol WWTP 109 Point Discharge 404488 4605950
17 Llobregat C 11,048 Cairat 80 Change Stream Geometry 405714 4602760
18 Llobregat C 9,844 La Puda 75 Change Stream Geometry 406672 4602550
19 Llobregat C 6,827 Can Sedo 70 Change Stream Geometry 406079 4599920
20 Llobregat C 2,974 Final Turn 63 Change Stream Geometry 409259 4598810
21 Llobregat D 2,556 D Aigues de Terrasa 62 Diversion 409283 4598400
22 Llobregat E 0 Abrera Treatment Plant 57 End 409757 4596230
156.
Appendix E. Input Files for the Stream Network Model
STUDYFILE [KEY]
River Name Node Distance Upstream Description
157.
STREAM SHADE FILE [KEY]
River Name; Node; Output flag; Hydrology model linkage; Local Shade Linkage; Distance Upstream; Description
Site Latitude (Radians); Stream Reach Azimuth (radians); Stream Width (m)
Eastside topographic altitude (radians); vegetation crown (m); height(m); offset (m); vegetation density
Westside topographic altitude (radians); vegetation crown (m); height(m); offset (m); vegetation density
STREAM SHADE FILE: CASTELLBELL TO ABRERA 29 JULY 2011
159.
STREAM GEOMETRY FILE [KEY]
River Name; Node; Distance upstream; Description
Site latitude (radians); elevation; Mannings N; Stream Width Coefficient; Width Exponent; Min Shading; Max
Shading; Ground Temperature; Streambed thermal gradient (J/m2/sec/C) default 1.65
160.
TIME PERIOD FILE [KEY]
Time Period Name; First Day of Simulation Period; Last Day of Simulation Period; Number of points in time period
average (usually 1); Dust Coefficient for simulation period; Ground reflectivity for simulation period; Calibration
Factors by Time Period: Air temperature calibration constant, Air Temperature calibration coefficient, Wind speed
calibration constant, Wind speed calibration coefficient.
161.
JOB CONTROL FILE [KEY]
Line 1. Title
Line 2. Subtitle
Line 6. Node count information and Time Period Output Sequence Numbers
Number of Q nodes; R nodes; S nodes; T nodes; V nodes; Starting year sequence number of output; Last year
sequence number of output; First time period number (always 1); Last time period sequence number (365)
162.
JOB CONTROL FILE: LLOBREGAT 28 July
TEMPERATURE MODEL
TFFFFFFFFFFFTFFFFFFF FFFFTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTT
1. 0. 0. 365. 15. 18. 10. 6. 21. 0.
1. 12. 1. 1. 2. 1. 0. 0. 0. 2.
1. 0. 0. 1. 0. 1. 1. 1. 365. 0.
0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000
0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000
0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000 0.00 0.0000
KVRFTME.DAT KVRFMET.DAT dummy KVRFSTR.DAT KVRFSTD.DAT
KVRFHDR.DAT KVRFHYD.DAT KVRFSHD.DAT
LLOB 57.6 29.8
CARD 29.8 132.0
STR. NAME # 3 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 4 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 5 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 6 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 7 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 8 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 9 0.0 0.0
STR. NAME # 10 0.0 0.0
164.
Appendix F. Field Work for Shading Estimates
The field work familiarized me with important stream features. For example, I learned that the stream
temperature gage at Castellbell was not at the location of the UTM coordinates provided. Neither was the
temperature gage, which was several hundred meters downstream from the Castellbell discharge gage. 124
Below is the template form used during the collection of field data.
Node/Waypoint
Name
UTM X
UTMY
Radians
Comments
UTM X
UTMY
Latitude (radians)
Vegetation height: water to top (m) Vegetation height: water to top (m)
124
For photographs during field work along the Llobregat River see:
https://picasaweb.google.com/jhoney/LlobregatRiverSegment?authkey=Gv1sRgCIyulbGwtI613wE#
165.
Appendix G. Calibration of SNTEMP Model
The uncalibrated model predicted stream temperatures that were too warm throughout the year. This
indicated that a cool effect in the watershed was not accounted for. This might be from the Gavarresa
tributary that flows into the Llobregat. The Gavarresa is the only significant tributary not accounted for in
the model because temperature data was not available.
The air temperature coefficient was the only parameter used to calibrate the model. Calibration was
coded into the time period file (KVRFTME.DAT) to allow for seasonal adjustments. During the winter,
from November to February, the air temperature calibration coefficient was 0.25. During the peak
summer months of June to September it was 0.9. In the remaining months the air temperature calibration
coefficient was 0.5.
Figure G.1 Observed and predicted temperature values with calibrated and uncalibrated Stream Network
Temperature Model for the Llobregat River in 2009.
166.
Appendix H. Full Results for SNTEMP
In the period in which EDR modules operated (March to October) the calibrated model predicted stream
temperatures with a mean error of 0.53C, while for the entire year the model error was 1.23C.
167.
5% 25% 50% 100% 200%
Mean -0.048 -0.227 -0.293 -0.585 -0.773
Mean C/km -0.001 -0.004 -0.005 -0.010 -0.014
Minimum -0.130 -0.580 -1.100 -2.400 -3.210
Maximum 0.100 0.510 0.870 1.030 1.220
SD 0.034 0.152 0.268 0.577 0.736
Table H.2 Summary statistics of temperature changes from scenarios that increased stream discharge.
Threshold Crossings
I correct for bias in my tabulation of threshold crossings with the regression equation that gave
me the relationship between modeled and observed observations (Fig 4.4). This quantified the
bias of my model.
These updated temperature (or predicted temperature) account for the model bias and therefore
were more appropriate for my estimation of threshold crossings.
168.
Temperature Threshold (C)
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 Total Euros/ year
Days
Table H.5 Avoided threshold crossings (in days) and their estimated economic value (Euros) associated
with each of the five shading scenarios increases in stream shading.
25% 7 9 5 0 2 9 4 4 40 40,000
50% 8 17 8 2 5 15 10 10 75 75,000
Table H.6 Avoided threshold crossings (in days) and their estimated economic value (Euros) from
increases in stream discharge.
169.
Llobregat River Temperature Profile
27 July 2009
25
24
23
23
22 No Coverage
21
Baseline
20
Restorable to 40%
19
18 25% Discharge
17 100% Discharge
16 100% Coverage
15
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Distance upstream (Km)
170.
Figure H.4 Stream temperature according to the revegetation scenarios.
171.
Appendix I. Notes on Scale Selection for SNTEMP
The results are sensitive to the length of stream segment studied, since most of the thermal heating occurs
in the first half of the stream segment between Balsareny and the stream juncture with the Cardener. As
noted in the Main Text, temperatures rise more rapidly at first, and then more gradually in the second half
of the segment. In this second half, between Castellbell and Abrera temperatures rise an average only
1.35C over this 29 km reach. This is an average of 0.06C/km, which is the lowest of the reaches
studied. In contrast, the upper segment between Sallent and Castellbell, temperatures rise on average
0.11C/km -- nearly double the thermal change in the lower half.
Three factors probably amplify the effect of stream shading in the upper reaches of the watershed. First
the stream width is narrower, which allows for shading to cover a larger proportion of the stream. Second,
the stream volume is smaller, and larger streams are less sensitive to changes in shading conditions
(Seedang et al. 2008, Chan et al. 1998). Third, temperatures higher in the watershed are cooler to begin
with, so shading helps the stream remain cool. Once the warming has taken place, shading has a much
smaller impact on downstream values. This implies that restoration in the upper half of the stream
segment would yield greater thermal protection than restoration in the lower reaches.
It is worth mentioning that the temperature rise on the Llobregat River is relatively small when compared
to other streams globally. The rate of increase for small streams has been reported as 0.6C/km
(Zwieniecki and Newton 1999), intermediate streams 0.2C/km (Cassie 2006) while larger streams 0.09
C/km (Torgerson et al. 2001). This would place the Llobregat with an average thermal gain per
kilometer closer to large streams, even though its discharge is more like an intermediate, or small stream.
Figure I.1 Observed stream temperature values in the Llobregat River during 2009.
172.
Figure I.2 Temperature differences between upstream and downstream gages.
Figure I.3 Mean Temperature Rise (C/km) between downstream and upstream gages.
173.
Figure I.4 Mean Temperature Rise (C/km) between downstream and upstream gages.
174.
Appendix J. Stream Segment Model (SSTEMP)
Prior to using the SNTEMP model as presented in the Main Text, I used the Stream Segment Model
(SSTEMP) to make a preliminary approximation regarding the potential impact of increased shading and
discharge on stream temperature. The Segment Model was designed to be a simplified and scaled down
version of SNTEMP (Bartholow 2004). The Segment Model includes a Windows interface to that allows
users to enter input variables and estimate downstream temperatures for a one day period. The Segment
Model uses the same mathematical equations as the original Network Model but does not allow for
mixing (tributaries, diversions or point source contributions), nor does it permit changes to geographic,
topographic or vegetative conditions within the segment.
The stream segment studied in the SSTEMP model was shorter (23.932 km) than the studied reach in the
Main Text. The segment began at the discharge measurement gage in Castellbell i el Vilar and ended at
the ATLL drinking water treatment facility. This segment begins 53 km downstream of the Baells dam
and 4.5 km downstream from the Llobregats confluence with the Cardener River. This reach is fed by
only small tributaries, most of which flow only during storm events. This segment has nine water
diversions to hydroelectric generators. These diversions are, in order moving downstream: Burs, Borrs,
La Bauma, Puig i Font, Comes, Gomis, El Cairat, Can Sed, and Catex Moli. Two waste water treatment
facilities discharge along this segment, one at Castellbell i el Vilar, and a second at Monistrol de
Montserrat. The stream segment ends 29 km upstream of its terminus point in the Mediterranean.
Just like SNTEMP, SSTEMP calculates the heat gained or lost from a parcel of water as it passes through
a stream segment. The model simulates heat flux processes such as convection, conduction, evaporation,
direct solar radiation (short wave), heat from the air (long wave radiation), and radiation back from the
water (see Main Text).
I collected data with a mean daily time step for the period 1 January 2004 to 15 November 2010
(n=2,526). Meteorological data was obtained from the same weather station in the town of el Pont de
Vilomara (406310, 4617994 UTM), operated by the Catalan Meteorological Service, and 7.5 kilometers
north of the river segment. Hydrologic and stream temperature data was downloaded from the Catalan
Water Agency (ACA).
The Segment Model was designed to produce mean daily outputs one day at a time (Fig M.1). A utility
allowed me to run several observations in a single operation, but only if all input parameters had data.
When removing days in which information was incomplete, the final data set included 1,470 days.
175.
Figure J.1 The user interface for the Segment Model (SSTEMP). Users adjust conditions concerning
time of year, hydrology, geometry, meteorology, and shade. The model predicts mean temperature values
at the end of the stream segment given these conditions (lower right).
176.
Figure J.2 Stream reach studied for the Stream Segment Temperature Model (SSTEMP).
SSTEMP Results
The Segment Model predicted downstream temperature with a mean error of -1.53 C (Fig M.3). Over
40% of the predicted temperatures were within 1 C of the observed values.
177.
Figure J.3 The error distribution of the Segment Model during 2004-2010. Error measured in C.
The Segment Model underestimated temperature values at the ATLL-Abrera water treatment facility,
especially during summer months. The most accurate results were during 2009 and 2010, while the error
increased in the earlier years (Fig M.4).
25.00
Degrees Celsius
20.00
15.00
Abrera
10.00 Modeled
5.00
0.00
Figure J.4 Observed temperature (blue) and modeled values (red) with the Stream Segment Temperature
model. Gaps show periods where input parameters were not available in the ACA water temperature data
set, most notably in late 2007 and early 2008.
178.
The Segment Model makes bold assumptions concerning the entire stream segment, and yet it succeeded
in estimating downstream temperatures under a wide range of meteorological and hydrological
conditions. The observed and modeled scatter plot shows a tight correlation (Pearson Correlation
Coefficient= 0.975, R2= 0.9249) albeit with a consistent underestimate (Fig M.5).
Figure J.5 The Segment Model underestimated downstream temperature values across a wide range of
seasonal conditions.
The consistent underestimation by Segment Model suggests that certain factors contributing to stream
heating which were not being incorporated into the model. These sources of heat may include the influx
of urban waste water, or the diversion of water into the hydroelectric channels.
The Segment Model also includes a tool to conduct a sensitivity analysis. The Segment Model was most
sensitive to inflow temperature, air temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation (Fig M.6). The
models sensitivity to these parameters is consistent with other stream temperature models (Bartholow
1989). In contrast, the parameters of most interest for this research, total shading and segment inflow,
showed that they had little influence over temperature. A variation in 10% of both of these parameters
made no difference in output temperature, according to the Segment Model sensitivity analysis.
179.
Figure J.6 Sensitivity Analysis for Segment Model showing that output results are most sensitive to
inflow temperature, air temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation.
However the simulated temperatures influenced my modeled results, not observed values. To estimate the
real temperature reduction on the observed values, I used the linear regression equation derived from
Figure M.5 that plotted the relationship between observed and modeled values.
I ran the modeled temperature values through equation (1) under both normal conditions and simulated
conditions. The difference between these temperature values was my new estimate of temperature
reductions. I then subtracted the temperature reductions from the observed temperature values. Finally, I
counted the number of days the treatment facility would have remained below the temperature thresholds
of 12C, 14C, 16C, 18C, 20C, 22C, 24C and 26 C.
The simulation suggests that increased shading moderated stream temperature sufficiently to prevent a
temperature threshold crossing on 280 of 1,470 days (19%), with an average of 65.5 days per year. The
simulation also suggests that an increase in shading would prevent the more threshold crossings in
warmer conditions, especially around 24 C.
180.
Figure J.7 Number of days water treatment facility will avoid crossing the temperature thresholds with an
increase in riparian shading to 30%.
With the Segment Model I simulated temperature values with increased flow through the main channel.
For a first approximation, I simulated the doubling of discharge values. On a day by day basis, the model
could also generate stream temperature profiles under various discharge conditions.
181.
Figure J.8 Number of days in which simulated stream temperatures would not pass critical threshold
values due to an increase in stream discharge.
The simulated increase in discharge moderated thermal heating, preventing threshold crossings on 1,012
days (68%), averaging 253 crossings avoided per year. Using the same assumptions as before, this
simulated increase in discharge could generate savings of approximately 253,000 per year for the ATLL-
Abrera water treatment facility.
The simulation suggests the ATLL-Abrera facility would avoid crossing the temperature threshold on
average 70 days per year. An EDR module costs approximately 1,000 per day to operate, therefore the
shading service under these conditions would be 70,000 per year.
125
The modules consume approximately 12,000 kWh per day, at a rate of 0.09 /kWh.
182.
Appendix K. Stream Network Model from Castellbell to Abrera
Before running the final version of the Stream Network Model presented in the Main Text, I ran a Stream
Network Model that considered a smaller reach between Castellbell and Abrera (23.9 km). This model
also originally included the nine water diversions by the various hydropower generators. This iteration of
the Network Model consisted of 34 nodes when including all the hydroelectric diversions (Appendix 10
Figure 1). When the hydroelectric diversions were removed, the simplified network contained 13 nodes.
Data on stream discharge must be provided for nodes Headwaters (H), Diversion (D), Point Source (P),
and End (E). Temperature data must be provided for Headwaters (H), and Point Source (P).
Figure K.1 A schematic representation of the complete and simplified Stream Network Model between
the headwaters in Castellbell i el Vilar to the ATLL Water Treatment Plant in Abrera.
183.
Figure K.2 Restorable stream segments. Areas in Red have less than 30% stream cover and have the
topographic conditions that would make riparian restoration plausible.
184.
Figure K.3 Modeled and observed temperature values during the period 2004-2009
Figure K.4 A comparison of observed temperature values with modeled values predicted by Network
Model at the end of the stream network. The Network Model shows a tight correlation but also
overestimates values.
185.
Temperature Profile of Stream Segment on
Llobregat River
20
18
Temperature (C)
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Figure K.5 Temperature profile of the SNTEMP model moving downstream from the first node H to the
end node. The spike at point 3 is attributable to a node located after a water diversion. At this location
there is little discharge in the main channel and the model estimates a high stream temperature. This high
temperature disappears once the diverted water is returned to the main channel. I have verified that the
rise in temperature on node 3 only occurs when the diversion upstream takes nearly all the flow from the
main channel.
186.
Figure K.6 Stream Temperature Change from Modification in Riparian Vegetation for the SNTEMP
model between Castellbell and Abrera.
187.
Table K.2 Network Nodes for the SNTEMP model between Castellbell and Abrera
ID River Node Name Elevation Function UTM_X UTM_Y NodeID Upstream (m)
1 Llobregat H Headwaters 148 Headwaters 405776 4610500 H 23932.10
2 Llobregat D Bures 147 Diversion 405385 4610500 D1 23552.10
3 Llobregat C Bures 141 Change Stream 404926 4610700 C1 23010.50
4 Llobregat R R Bures 141 Geometry
Return 404673 4610510 R2 22662.80
5 Llobregat C Borras 141 Change Stream 404411 4609660 C2 21752.60
6 Llobregat D Can Borras 139 Geometry
Diversion 404486 4609650 D2 21674.30
7 Llobregat R R Borras 132 Return 405116 4609280 R1 20942.40
8 Llobregat C La Bauma Desviacio 132 Change Stream 405562 4609180 C3 20462.90
9 Llobregat D La Bauma 132 Geometry
Diversion 405547 4609130 D3 20427.90
10 Llobregat R R La Bauma 127 Return 405661 4608820 R3 19907.40
11 Llobregat C La Bauma 127 Change Stream 405443 4608670 C4 19641.30
12 Llobregat P Castellbell i Vilar 127 Geometry
Point Discharge 405366 4608730 P1 19547.90
13 Llobregat C WWTP
C58 125 Change Stream 404801 4608890 C5 18919.50
14 Llobregat C Puig i Font 126 Geometry
Change Stream 404388 4607880 C6 17805.60
15 Llobregat D Puig i Font 126 Geometry
Diversion 404375 4607890 D4 17789.10
16 Llobregat R R Puig i Font 119 Return 403957 4607530 R4 17036.90
17 Llobregat C Monistrol 119 Change Stream 403990 4607380 C7 16879.10
18 Llobregat D Comes 118 Geometry
Diversion 404210 4607020 D5 16466.10
19 Llobregat R R Comes 112 Return 404317 4606920 R5 16303.30
20 Llobregat D Colonia Gomis 111 Diversion 404401 4605970 D6 15152.80
21 Llobregat P Monistrol WWTP 109 Point Discharge 404488 4605950 P2 15054.30
22 Llobregat R R Gomis 106 Return 404403 4605240 R6 14142.60
23 Llobregat D El Cairat 106 Diversion 405380 4603030 D7 11480.40
24 Llobregat R R El Cairat 80 Return 405464 4602940 R7 11378.10
25 Llobregat C Cairat 80 Change Stream 405714 4602760 C8 11048.90
26 Llobregat C La Puda 75 Geometry
Change Stream 406672 4602550 C9 9844.90
27 Llobregat D Can Sedo 75 Geometry
Diversion 406198 4600790 D8 7786.30
28 Llobregat R R Can Sedo 70 Return 406068 4600150 R8 7050.40
29 Llobregat C Can Sedo 70 Change Stream 406079 4599920 C10 6827.40
30 Llobregat D Catex Moli 70 Geometry
Diversion 407124 4599570 D9 5716.10
31 Llobregat R R Catex Moli 63 Return 409111 4598890 R9 3138.20
32 Llobregat C Final Turn 63 Change Stream 409259 4598810 C11 2974.30
33 Llobregat D D Aigues de Terrasa 62 Geometry
Diversion 409283 4598400 D10 2556.90
34 Llobregat E ATLL-Abrera 57 End 409757 4596230 E 0.00
188.
Appendix L. Riparian Vegetation and Restoration Costs
Starting in 2006, the Catalan Water Agency has collaborated with municipalities to restore riparian
habitat along the Cardener and Llobregat Rivers. Projects have been executed at 16 sites in which
invasive species of cane (arundo donax) has been removed, and native trees and shrubs were planted.
The planted tree species include willows (Salix alba), black alder (Alnus glutinosa), white poplar
(Populus alba), narrow leafed ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) and black poplar (Populus nigra). They also
have planted native shrubs such as the rosemary willow (Salix elaeganos), the purple willow (Salix
purpurea), the common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), the European Privet (Ligustrum vulgaris), the
common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), and the black thorn (Prunus spinosa).
As an example of what is planted at these riparian restoration projects, the table below provides a list of
what was planted at Monistrol de Montserrat.
The average heights for these tree species reach up to 27-30 meters. However my shading estimates were
conservative and only assumed heights of 20 m.
189.
A cost-benefit analysis make assumptions pertaining to: (a) discount rate, (b) tree growth rate, (c)
shading-value relationship.
(a) Discount rate. Cost benefit analysis often use discount rates in the range of 4-6%. In this case, I have
chosen a discount rate of 4%. Higher discount rates imply that present generations place less value on
future costs and benefits. Lower discount rates imply that present generations place a greater value future
costs and benefits.
(b) Tree growth rate. I found tree growth rates for riparian species in another study that estimated the
effect of riparian restoration on stream temperature (Wanatabe et al. 2005). In the Llobregat River, the
restoration projects also planted species of cottonwoods, making these growth rates particularly useful.
These growth curves tell us that cottonwoods will reach a height of 20 m at some point between 20 and 25
years. Since the trees planted in these restoration projects are already several years old, I assume that 20
years after planting, the trees will be 20 m in height (Fig L.2). For my shading model, 20 m is full
maturity, because that was the maximum height used in the model.
Figure L.2 Tree growth of cottonwoods and other vegetation used for riparian restoration (Wanatabe et
al. 2005).
The temperature model assumed a maximum height of only 20 m. The tree growth rate used in the
cost/benefit analysis was adjusted accordingly, so that after 20 years, the trees reached 100% of its
expected height.
190.
Cost per km 60,150
Discount Rate 0.04
Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4
Restorable Areas to 40% Restorable Areas to 60% Restorable Areas to 80% 100 % Coverage
Reach Length (km) 18 27 36 57.6
Initial Investment 1,082,700 1,624,050 2,165,400 3,464,640
% Tree Growth Year Future Value Present Value Future Value Present Value Future Value Present Value Future Value Present Value
0.05 1 2,850 2,740 5,200 5,000 7,800 7,500 14,150 13,476
0.1 2 5,700 5,270 10,400 9,615 15,600 14,423 28,300 25,669
0.15 3 8,550 7,601 15,600 13,868 23,400 20,803 42,450 36,670
0.2 4 11,400 9,745 20,800 17,780 31,200 26,670 56,600 46,565
0.27 5 15,390 12,649 28,080 23,080 42,120 34,620 76,410 59,869
0.3 6 17,100 13,514 31,200 24,658 46,800 36,987 84,900 63,354
0.35 7 19,950 15,160 36,400 27,661 54,600 41,492 99,050 70,393
0.4 8 22,800 16,660 41,600 30,397 62,400 45,595 113,200 76,618
0.45 9 25,650 18,021 46,800 32,881 70,200 49,322 127,350 82,091
0.56 10 31,920 21,564 58,240 39,345 87,360 59,017 158,480 97,293
0.58 11 33,060 21,475 60,320 39,183 90,480 58,774 164,140 95,969
0.6 12 34,200 21,361 62,400 38,975 93,600 58,462 169,800 94,551
0.65 13 37,050 22,251 67,600 40,599 101,400 60,898 183,950 97,553
0.7 14 39,900 23,041 72,800 42,040 109,200 63,060 198,100 100,054
0.77 15 43,890 24,371 80,080 44,466 120,120 66,698 217,910 104,818
0.8 16 45,600 24,346 83,200 44,421 124,800 66,632 226,400 103,716
0.85 17 48,450 24,873 88,400 45,382 132,600 68,073 240,550 104,951
0.9 18 51,300 25,323 93,600 46,204 140,400 69,305 254,700 105,833
0.95 19 54,150 25,702 98,800 46,895 148,200 70,342 268,850 106,393
1 20 57,000 26,014 104,000 47,464 156,000 71,196 283,000 106,660
Undiscounted Benefits 605,910 1,105,520 1,658,280 3,008,290
Net Benefits 361,683 659,913 989,869 1,592,497
Net Cost 1,082,700 1,624,050 2,165,400 3,464,640
Net Present Value - 721,017 - 964,137 - 1,175,531 - 1,872,143
Percent Recovery 33% 41% 46% 46%
Table L.2 Cost-Benefit Analysis for each of the restoration scenarios.
191.
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